


Sensation - As long as you're alive

by Sharry



Category: Appleseed - 士郎正宗 | Appleseed - Shirow Masamune
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Military Background, Relationship(s), cyborg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-10-15 02:32:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 73,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10548560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharry/pseuds/Sharry
Summary: She fell silent, recalling his cold and absolute tone, how he turned around, not reacting to anything she said, and went away that day. But she remembered what she said, how she insulted him, how she screamed at him. It was the last time they really spoke with each other. He had left her, still living in the same town, in their possible "Eden", and left her alone. How did it happen? (Prologue)Briareos behaves strange after a common mission and while Deunan is mad at him, she doesn't notice the growing distance between them, and as she does, it seems to late, what did happen? And why did it happen?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone,
> 
> I decided to revive this old project of mine with regular updates.
> 
> Because manga, movies and series are contradicting each other (and themselves as well) I try to make it work for all, the only thing is Briareos' skin color for he is African origin and except for the 2007 movie he's portrayed like that everywhere (I don't like that movie but maybe because I'm simply no fan of Tereus)
> 
> For any questions or critics you can always ask me.
> 
> Thank you and have fun
> 
> Sharry

Prologue

 

 “Are you ready? “

”Yes, of course. “

”Then let’s go, Briareos. “

Slowly he stood up, so this was it? He couldn’t believe it. He always thought he would die in action, with a bullet through his head or his chest, like he almost did back then. But on the other hand… _beep, beep_ an incoming call. It was…

_‘Deunan…‘_

 WWWhat was he supposed to do?

Answering?

This could be a stupid, troublemaking idea.

Not answering?

But maybe this was his last opportunity to talk to her, to hear her voice. A silent sigh went up his throat, but he did not let it pass. He could leave without saying her… saying her what? What could he say to her? Was he even able to talk to her without spilling everything out, what she was not supposed to know?

 

“Oh, Deunan. What are you doing here?”

“Oi, Hitomi. Is Briareos here?”

“No, he isn’t, I am sorry. Deunan, are you drunk?”

“No! Am not!”

“Please, do not lie to me. We are friends, aren’t we? So tell me, what’s wrong?”

Hitomi gently pulled Deunan inside, closed the door, and took the bottle out of her hands.

“Hey! That’s mi…”

“I am sorry, but I presume you drank enough. Come on, what’s going on between you and Briareos?”

“I don’ know! **Damn it!** ” Loudly cursing Deunan dropped on the best chair nearby, suddenly close to tears.

“I don’ know what’s goin’ on? He doesn’ say anythin’, doesn’ even look at me. Leaves early in the morning, comes home late. Since he requested to change teams he’s been freakin’ crazy an’ mean an’ stupid an’…”

“Have you ever talked with him about it?” Carefully the young bioroid sat down beside her friend and put a hand on her arm, smiling at her warm and gentle.

“About what!?” Bad breath reeked out of Deunan’s mouth as she barked back.

“About why he decided you to team up with this new ESWAT gu..”

“Oh that damn jerk Wataru, he is so dump, and slow, doesn’ even know how to shoot a gun or how to use a landmate….”

“Aren’t you a bit rough? Just because he is not as good as Briareos and is still…”

“And that badass Briareos should never ever look at me again. Why the heck did he do this? We’re partners, or we should be, why did he leave me behind with such an idiotic kid. I’m his point man, isn’t he supposed to follow me?” Her voice grew louder and louder until she almost ended up screaming at Hitomi, who was still able to smile friendly and listened without judging.

“What did he say when he told you, that he would team up with someone else the upcoming time?” The young soldier lowered her voice in a bad imitation of the cyborg’s voice “You need to be able to fight well along with others, Deunan, you need to be able to protect yourself if they cannot. What would you do if I’m not around anymore? Maybe I cannot protect you forever.”

She fell silent, recalling his cold and absolute tone, how he had turned around, not reacting to anything she had said, and went away that day. But she remembered what she had said, how she had insulted him, how she had screamed at him. It had been almost over a month ago now, but it had been the last time they really had spoken with each other. 

At first she had been so mad at him, she hadn’t even noticed his belongings were gone, one by one, but after she had calmed down, it had seemed to be impossible to talk to him, on missions she had never been teamed up with him, but with that good-for-nothing bioroid Wataru, who was still in training (she hated to admit that he was pretty skillful and even a better partner than some of the more experienced soldiers could have been, she hated him for not being Briareos), in her free time she had tried to find him ,but he had been vanished, she looked everywhere, at his favorite restaurant, his favorite training place, even at the hospital, because she did not know if he was injured from his last mission.

She asked everyone she knew if they knew where he lived, but most of them just shrugged their shoulders, grinned foolishly and said “Take a good look at your bed, honey.”  Yoshitune and Hitomi were kind to her but they also had no idea where he could be. He had left her, still living in the same town, in their possible _Eden_ , and left her alone.

“Why did he do that? Why did he go, and leave me all alone? He said he would protect me, even if I didn’t want him to. So why now, just out of the blue?”

She looked at her friend, sober now, who closed her eyes shortly before getting up.

“Deunan, you shouldn’t ask me, but him.”

“How ? He has vanished; it’s like chasing a ghost, I see him at work, but only for half a second, then he’s gone and we have to move out.” She called after the young girl, who disappeared in the kitchen.

“He’s never at the gym during his usual training times, he’s actually never there it seems. I’ve even spent a night there waiting for him.”

Deunan could hear the sound of water, a calming sound. Then Hitomi laughed, softly, and came back with two glasses of water.

“Deunan, in which century are you living? You do not have to go, chasing him through the city, trying to find him by accident. He is a cyborg, he always has a cellphone with him, so you can always call him, and if he still doesn’t answer, you can track him down with his transmitter. Yoshitune would gladly help you, if that would stop your…” Her friend didn’t even listen to her anymore but already dialing, then she stopped.

“He has been avoiding me, right? Maybe he just doesn’t like me anymore.”

Hitomi laughed again. “Deunan, that’s nonsense, you should know that he loves you. So go ahead and call him, so you’ll know.”

The young soldier nodded and bit her lips, what would he say? Would he even answer her?

 

“Hello…”

“…”

He sighed. “Deunan…”

“Bri…Briareos.”

Damn it, she sounded like she was on the nerve of crying and was drunk. He had to be cold, for her.

“What do you want? I’m kind of busy right now, got it?”

He heard her swallow, maybe he was a little too harsh, but he couldn’t risk her to… “I wanted to ask you, if you’re all right.” She stumbled for a moment. “And I wanted to know, when… no if you will come home someday.”

The cyborg buried his head in his right hand, it was a mistake, he knew it all along, but he wanted to hear her, so badly.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but I don’t thi…”

“You hate me, don’t you?” Her voice was loud, cracking, breaking and then silent, broken, sad. “You hate me for what I said, back then, don’t you? I’m sorry Briareos, I am so sorry, you are right, I need to learn to watch my back I…”

“I don’t hate you, Deunan, I never could, and I am not angry with you. It’s all right, everything is fine.”

“ **It’s not!** How can you say that? You’re not here, we aren’t partners anymore, you’re gone, and you left me alone! Why? _Why Briareos?_ ”

He couldn’t stand it, her voice pleading like that, hurting like that, he never wanted to hurt her, always wanted to protect her, but he couldn’t, not anymore, not like this…

“Because I do, what’s always best for you Deunan, you need a different partner, so you learn how to protect yourself for the case that I won’t be around.”

He could hear her stop breathing, in the background something, which sounded like glass, broke; he could see the icy shards flying like ice crystals, scratching Deunan’s Skin. He could see the warm red fluid, only one or two drops, enough to make him freeze.

“It’s because of our last mission, isn’t it?”

“Deunan…”

“Isn’t it? Briareos!”

“I have to go now, Deunan.”

“What?! Wai…”

“Please, take care, and don’t get yourself killed, okay?”

“Bria…”

He hung up.’ _How stupid!’_   He wanted to calm her down, to make her accept the new arrangement; he wanted her to feel safe without him. But he screwed up, big times.

 

“Are you ready?”

“I am.” He stood up, went in that white cold room.

“Good, the sooner we get done, the better.”

The door closed behind his back, there was no turning back, the die was cast.

“Don’t worry; the pain will be sharp but brief.”

He sighed, “Just bring it on, okay. Let’s finish this mess.”

Slowly the cyborg closed his eyes, being destined to never open them again.

 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

_Three months ago_

“Listen! NO Solos, you are in the critical zone now. Team 5F did you reach your assigned place?”

_“Yes! We’re ready, just waiting for your command.”_

“Team 5B?”

_“We’re ready, but I cannot see the signal from Team 5S.”_

“Shit! Where the hell are Dalton and Ohara?”

His chair cried out in a sharp sound as the Commander turned around quickly and stood up, looking at multiple monitors, he couldn’t find the missing soldiers, one of them just passed his last exams, it was his first real MTC _, Mission To Complete_ ; not allowed to fail, no matter at what cost, no matter how many lives. But if those two were dead, it was impossible for the rest of them to continue, because it was their part to destroy the electricity and start the alarm in the other building, so that _they_ could enter unseen. What should he do now? The back-up team did not answer, neither did the second back-up, but their emergency signals stopped flashing minutes ago; it was already too late to save them…

_“Team 5X here.”_

Slowly he turned around, as the dark voice of his leading team echoed inside of the command center. The cyborg was not supposed to contact him already. It was way to early…

“What is it Briareos? Is something wrong?”

_“No Sir. I just reached the entering point.”_

“Already?  You sure are fast.”

_“Do you want me to enter?”_

He smiled; this cyborg was his favorite subordinate, he was skillful, smart, and fulfilled all his missions with excellent grades, even though he was injured often, primarily when his pointman decided again to do the most dangerous experiments. By the way…

“What do you mean by **you** reached the entering point? Where is Deunan?”

Silence… he knew it, not longer than a sharp breath and he heard what he did not want to hear.

_“We split up, so she could check on Team 5S, and in case of their extinction, fulfill their part.”_

Briareos voice sounded cold, not calm but cold, he was probably not happy about this plan as well, everyone knew he hated that woman to be in danger, but damn it, it was her job, and she was great in mistaking orders just to get in trouble. But nevertheless she was always successful, and right now their last chance.

He slowly turned away from the monitors, closed his eyes and exhaled. One day that woman would kill him, or at least his nerves.

“When did you split up, Briareos?”

_“2 Minutes and 45 seconds ago, she wants to contact you as soon as she knows what’s going on.”_

“Well, okay. Team 5X, stay where you are, and wait for orders.”

_“Roger!”_

 “Nagase!”

“Yes Sir!”

“How many minutes?”

“Eleven, Sir.”

“Okay…” A silent sigh left his lips, as he turned back to the monitors, they had no time left, his men waited for orders, and he could not give any, because…

_“Team 5X here.”_

“Deunan! Where the hell are you?” He couldn’t help but feeling relieved.

_“At the checkpoint, sir!”_

“And where is Team 5S, Deunan?”

There was a sharp pause before she answered. _“They could not fulfill the mission.”_

He closed it eyes. “Death?”

_“Yes, sir. Headshots, right trough the ear, both.”_

He clenched his fists, this did not sound good, the killer had to be a master of his skills, to kill two well trained soldiers that easily.  “What about the shooter?”

_“Death, as well, sir. Seems like Ohara killed him in the same second he was shot, otherwise they’d already welcomed us.”_

Ohara, a young boy, killed on his first MTC, and facing the death he was able to save the whole mission. What a shame to lose somebody like him, as well as Dalton, one of his own friends, well known for fighting in the most dangerous sceneries and coming out alive and almost unwounded. Now they were both death…

“Do you see any of the back-up teams?”

She did not answer right away.

_“What’s left of them…”_

So they were caught up in the explosion a few minutes ago. What a hell of a day. Right now he hated his job, and he hated the MTCs. Already six of his people were dead, for nothing! He closed his eyes, he had to calm down, he was the commander, and it was his job, to stay focused.

“Okay Deunan, what about the entrance?”

_“I am ready and just waiting for your command.”_

The commander looked over Nagases shoulder at the countdown; they had no time to lose.

“This is my order, listen well. I want you to start the party and then you will go back to the entering point and join Briareos.”

_“Sir, wouldn’t it be faster for me to…”_

“That was no request!”

_“Yes Sir!”_

A second later a mechanical cry cut through the night, loud and ear cracking, the mission had just began, and now the party started…

 

He waited. Just following his orders. But man, he swore himself, if Deunan didn’t show up the next few seconds he would abandon all of it and go looking for her. His sound-detectors signaled him, that the loud noise, the starting shot for their mission was working for already more than a minute. She had to be back by now, big times!

He lifted his woodpecker just in the second he could hear a hint of movement, but the next moment he could already relax.

“You’re late. Did you go shopping on your way back?” 

A trace of a smile answered him, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to, he already knew, he knew before his transmitter heard what she told the commander, even before they decided to split up, and the cold in her eyes, trying hard to cover the sadness, just reassured him.

He moved his shoulders, an old habit, still left from being human, to loosen up muscles.

“Ready?”

“Always!”

They were already running.

The structure of their mission was easy, nothing special, no civilians, no hostage. Just some crazy people, stealing information, information which should be kept save inside Gaia. Information they had to get back, and then destroy every evidence they could find. This mission was made for him, as he was, unwanted, the center of their whole plan. Being the only cyborg, it was his job to download all data in his computer-brain and to make sure, that nothing was missing.

Unfortunately it was not all that easy. Those people were not simple criminals, most of them were well trained, ex-ESWAT-members, betraying their own folks in order to accomplish some foolish thoughts. Only one of them wasn’t a fighter, he was some sort of scientist, but brilliant in his work, mainly creating optimized bioroids and connecting human tissue with technique, just as he was, a cyborg.

Soundless they made their way up to the entrance, lifting their weapons, waiting.

_“Team 5B here. East side is secured.”_

Briareos watched Deunans finger relaxing before they’re reclenched again around the trigger of her Bobson. She was ready.

_“Team 5A here. West side double checked.”_

_“Team 5F here. We’re ready.”_

He looked down at her, watching her nod.

“Team 5X here. We’re entering.”

They didn’t wait for the commander’s answer, but slipped like shadows inside the huge building.

 

The next few minutes were a fast mixture of firing and ducking. Reflexes acting faster than the brain could think of. Hands moved before the eye could spot something in this blur of light and color.  She could hear screams of dying men. Hear her own sharp breathing, Briareos loud grunt, as he crushed the head of one soldier against the solid wall.

Suddenly it all went silent. Except for the quiet tripling of red fluid and the fainting groans of death. Slowly she turned around. Surprised she realized that while fighting they had moved into another room, the wall behind them scarred with fine lines of breaking stone, in front of them just a knee-high rail, separating this platform from the dark nothingness of the night. Somewhere high above them the roof cried silently, not holding the weight of time much longer.

Halfway between her and the rail an unidentifiable object buzzed softly. Monitors ran chemical and physical symbols up and down faster than any human eye could read, connected in some cable tangle, which looked like a strange tree. The branches of wire disappeared in the darkness, probably hiding between the broken stones of the walls. The roots of pipes pulsed slightly with energy. The trunk, like a heart, beeped in a steady rhythm while unreadable codes rushed over the monitors.

Deunan didn’t know, why this information were so important, she didn’t want to know, what those terrorists wanted to gain by stealing them, but right now she was kind of amazed, for this sculpture emanated some sort of beauty and grace.

“Did you notice?”

 She turned around, watching her partner approaching her, seeing all of his tiny sensors working, giving him more input than he needed.

“Noticed what?” What was he talking about? There was no one in here, they eliminated every possible enemy. So what did she miss?

“Since we entered the building, we lost all contact to the commander, as well as to the other teams.”

“So?”

“I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence or if there is more to it…” She could feel his worries, could sense his tense body, he waited for something.

“Maybe,” She answered calm, while surrounding the electronic tree, alert, carefully, fierce “But while we wait for something to happen, do you mind doing your job?”

She could feel his camera-eyes stare at her, although there was a huge trunk between them.

“Are you making fun of me?” His voice as deadly as his weapons.

“I would never dare.” She snickered, completing her turn around the machine, a bold grin on her lips. He laughed softly. “Watch your tongue, young lady.” Before facing this monster of technique. The tip of his index finger flipped open, revealing some kind of technical access.

 

While approaching the peeping giant, his eyesight never lost Deunan, who was already scanning the area. The moment he would connect to this computer, he would not be able to move on his own until the download was finished, that’s why she had to cover his back, for once.

The official plan was to secure the spot and wait for team 5F and team 5G. But it already took them too long; he needed at least 10 minutes, probably more than 20. They had no time.

“Ready?”

“Always!”

Warily he connected with the computer, wondering why nobody was there; it seemed all so easy, like they _wanted_ them to get the information back.

A strange feeling filled his body, as his computer-brain was almost enjoying this connection, while his human mind did not want to give up his self-reliance, he just didn’t trust any machine, as being one himself.

His body froze, his human mind went blank, and suddenly there was so much data filling his head, he did not even try to understand, did not even think about it, using a special technique he learned to keep sanity, reviving one memory, every little fragment of it, recalling the smell, remembering the feeling, that was all he could do to prevent him from loosing himself.

He remembered her, he remembered that moment when she said yes, not crying like a little girl, but reloading her gong, not even looking at him, before adding “As soon as the war is over.”, crawling next to him, always careful to stay out of the range of fire, and kissing him, like she never did before.

How he had waited for this war to be over, and now he waited for his own war to be over.

 

_Klick_

Just a soft sound, nothing special, not louder than flipping fingers, but loud enough to tense up her body.

She slightly turned her head, just to see that the cyborg behind her propped his finger right into that beeping thing. His body grew stiff, he did not react anymore. The download-process started…

The following minutes seemed to last hours as she watched the nothingness around her and waited for anything to happen (although she really preferred nothing would disturb their actions for once).

Having no one to talk to, she started worrying -just as Briareos usually did- where the other guys got to.

Why didn’t they show up?

This whole mission completely went in the wrong direction. It had been obvious, that this MTC was not supposed to be easy, because many of their enemies had once been comrades of them, but still they should have been in advantage. All they needed to do was to collect this data and then destroy every piece of evidence, including all human lives fighting against them. The only exception should be the maniac, who had been able to steal all this technical information, that should have been save in Gaia, but now was flowing through the electronic branches of the strange tree behind her, entering the body of the cyborg. She just hoped this strange computer wouldn’t crash along with Briareos’ software-brain.

So now she stood there, hoping for some of the others soldiers to arrive, hoping for them to be successful in catching the former researcher, hoping that they could bring him home and find the gap in their security system, which enabled him to endanger her possible Eden like this.

And as she waited, she heard that single sound, not loud, and not really strange for the untrained ear, buried beneath those other sounds. Far away she could still hear the men they just defeated dying, their last sharp breaths, the red fluid dripping softly, still warm, but already lifeless.

Yes, those noises were unpleasant, almost enough to make her feel ill, but she had no time for a weak stomach, nor a weak heart.  That’s why she noticed this slightly different sound, it was not the same as the other ones, because it was moving, slowly, sometimes pausing, but the steady dripping came closer, with every second she waited.

Deunan knew, she had only two ways to respond. The first one was to wait, and to hope that she could react fast enough the moment the danger was close enough. The other one was to attack the arrival, before they were close enough to be a thread for her or Briareos, but the problem here was, that she had to widen the distance between her and the cyborg, a dangerous risk.

Her decision was made within half a second, she couldn’t dare Briareos to be in more danger than he already was, so she waited, relaxing her body just enough for a sharp breath before taking one step aside, realizing that the approaching sound came from a different direction than the other ones, not from the only door, she and Briareos had just passed, but from a corner to her left.

It seemed like there was no light in this corner, it looked like the bottomless darkness behind Deunan’s back, but she knew that just a few seconds ago this corner was not pitch black but rather inconspicuous and harmless like any other corner in a room with an open side into a wide hall of nothingness. So what did happen?

There was no time for her to solve this mystery; suddenly she was blinded by some glare lightening, which disappeared the same moment it showed up. Her body was dying with suspense, ready to act within every millisecond.

“Oh my, I thought I heard some screaming, but you sure are fast.”

A voice of an old man came from that odd corner. She tried to open her eyes, but everything was still blurry and spots of violet and black kept blocking her sight.

“You know you really set me up with your false emergency signal. Otherwise I would never leave my precious little treasure alone with those stupid soldiers, who weren’t even able to stop you, madam, and your frie…”

Slowly she was able to see again, and while realizing that the corner seemed to be a hidden door, she starred at that man who just stopped talking. He whore haggled clothes, which were drenched with water like he just ran through rain, did it rain? Softly it dripped to the floor, every time it touched the ground Deunans body tensed, but that man didn’t seem to be dangerous at all, although he was younger than his dry voice sounded. His gawky figure was bend, almost like he carried something heavy, his hairless head looked just like a statue, as he stared over to her, his mouth still wide opened, obviously surprised or even shocked. His eyes kept shaking like they would pop out of their wholes any seconds.

“It’s you. You really came…”, he whispered amazed.

Slowly she lifted her gun, ready to shot immediately. “You know me?”

“Not you, insignificant woman.” With a sharp dismissive wave of his hand he started walking.

“Any closer and I will kill you!” It was the first time he really looked at her. “I’m sure you will. Having learned nothing else than how to kill people. What a satisfying work.”  The irony in his words was cold and full of hatred. “You know how to use your weapons, the proofs lies behind us, dying.”

She couldn’t remember someone looking at her with such abhorrence and disdain as he did.

“I don’t care what you do with your life. You are nothing more than some human, millions of you live in this world, not even grateful for the life you’re given. But he, he is grateful for being alive.”

She was confused by his words, from mean and heartless they changed into some warm and soft sound, like a mother, talking about her baby. 

“It was a clever move, to bring him here.” His voice had already changed back into anger, while looking at her. “You all knew that I cannot kill him.”

Without letting her guard down, she starred at him.

“Why? Just because he is a cyborg?”

“Exactly, young lady, but leave the just aside, he is _the_ cyborg.”

A strange smell filled Deunan’s nose, was it kerosene?

“Stop moving!” She yelled as that guy, she suspected to be that crazy scientist, slipped his hand into his pocket.

He smiled softly. “Don’t worry, it’s just a cigarette.”

He raised his hand to show a self-made cigarette and a lighter. His belt lost the grip on his shirt and his smile turned into a grotesque grimace as he watched her realizing what he was wearing beneath his clothes.

“You know, it is sad, indeed. All my plans, shattered to small tiny pieces. But before you capture me and restrain my genius brain again I will set myself free, like fire, which can never be captured. It either burns or dies, like me, but I little girl, I could have changed this world. No, I am sure, that I could have saved this broken and rotten world, starting with him. I could have saved him for another time.” He nodded to Briareos, a bizarre smile on his lips “And because he is _the_ cyborg, girl, I give you five seconds.”

The lighter clicked softly, nothing but a flame was crossing her way to his head, but she knew, that she could not shoot him “Five!” for the tiniest spark would enflame him “Four!” and blow them all up. “Three!”

Slowly his hand came closer and closer to his cigarette, he was holding between his lips. Before she could even think about it, her body was moving on its own, running, tackling, ducking. Her hands forced muscles of metal and fiber; her arms embraced the mechanic body under blood-drenched clothes; her fingers clutched into the fake tissue, so desperate that normal human skin would have been broken by her strength.

“Two!”

Her legs just kept running, not far, more stumbling and suddenly there was no ground under her feet anymore. She could hear metal bending iron, breaking it, as Briareos’ heavy body crashed against the fence, smashing it into little pieces, which escorted the couple of soldiers on their way into the darkness.

“One!”

It should be loud! In her back she could feel the heat and the intension of the explosion. She knew that the whole house would surrender under the force of the impact; stones, steal, and wood falling heavy in the nothingness beyond them. But all that Deunan could hear that moment was her own loud heartbeat, could feel how her chest was almost bursting. Strangely it felt like they were falling forever, her hands holding the huge cyborg, not letting go of their precious treasure for even a second. The cool air under them rushed through her hair, as she lifted her head, for a short moment she could see the face of her comrade, shocked, that no lights were blinking and no sensor reacted on the surroundings. No one heard the name leaving her lips as the wind carried it away and then, they hit the ground.

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

„What’s with that child?“

“We should shoot him right away. He’s one of _them_.”

“He killed his commander I heard.”

“What ya talkin’ ‘bout? This rugrat? What grown man gets killed by an infant?”

“He’s about seven or eight I guess.”

“All the more reason to take care of him now, too dangerous.”

“Why is he here? A spy?”  
“He asked for asylum they say.”

“Yeah, but which idiot takes a KGB kiddo to our base?”

“Well, that idiot would be me, I assume.”

“Major!”

The bunch of men jumped aside as a tall blonde showed up.

“So Private Drawne, you think I’m an idiot?” He said, not even looking at the operative but gazing through the window, seeing a little boy sitting in a cold interrogation room.

“No, Sir. It’s just…”

“Enough. If you guys got so much time molesting a child seeking political asylum, why don’t you go for another round?”

Mumbling under their breaths the other officers of the LAPD SWAT went their way.

“Corporal Smith, Corporal Jackson you may accompany me.”

“Yes, Sir!” Both stopped and turned around to follow their superior.

Together with the tall blonde, who seemed to be too young to be actually in a leading position, they opened the door and went inside.

The boy looked up, no fear in his dark eyes, but a determined look, to keen for a boy his age.

“Hey” The Major said casually and sat down, facing the child.

“I guess you heard them talking and understood it.” His tone was so different from before. Not cold, not emotionless, but friendly and calm, like talking to a friend.

After a moment the child nodded.

“Your name is Briareos?”

The child nodded again.

“Smith, Jackson, I’d like you to meet Briareos. You heard the rumors, didn’t you?”

They nodded.

“I’ll tell you this only once. This child never asked for asylum.”

They looked up.

“On my last mission this boy saved me by killing his commander.”

“What?”

“But Major, if he’s without asylum what’s he doin’ here?”

“That’s what I’m trying to explain. I mean, this child’s a genius. He didn’t even…”

“Stop.”

All grown man looked down at the sitting boy, his cold expression didn’t even falter.

“No boy.” The boy said. “No child.” He didn’t sound mad or even angry, but absolute.

“I’m man!”

The black haired officer started laughing, the next moment he was pinned against the wall, the boy holding him, strangling him.

Corporal Smith pulled his weapon, ready to shoot. But his way was blocked by the calm observing Major.

“No funny.” The child hissed. “Kill one you’re boy, kill hundred you’re man.”

“And how many did you kill?” The Major asked quiet, not even bothering about his suffocating agent.

The boy didn’t answer.

“Jackson, how many men have you killed yet?” The blonde continued the conversation like he discussed the weather.

The officer at the wall tried to free himself, failing. Even though he was taller and spent more years fighting than the boy, he was the one losing the battle.

“Jackson?” The Major asked again.

“Twenty…twenty-eight, Sir.” He huffed, trying to catch his breath.

“How about you, Smith?”

The Corporal behind his superior lowered his weapon.

“Thirty-four, Sir.”

“I see.” The Major nodded and sat down at the chair.

“So Briareos, those two fine officers are boys even though they’re past their twenties, right?”

The boy nodded, even though it wasn’t clear if the blonde meant their age or not.

“So you don’t take orders from them?”

He nodded again.

The blonde sighed.

“My name’s Major Knute, you can call me Carl though, if you want.”

The boy didn’t even react.

“I’m twenty-one years old, Briareos, and even though I’m younger than those two, I’m their Major. You know why?”

The child relaxed his right arm a little bit, allowing Jackson to breathe a little bit better.

“You’re man?” He asked.

“I am.” Knute folded his arms. “So from one man to another. May I ask you to let go of an ignorant boy?”

For a second nothing happened, the tension was almost unbearable, then the boy let go of the officer and turned around. Jackson collapsed on the ground, sucking in air desperately.

“Boy not has respect.” The child stated cool, sounding more like an adult than any other of them.

“He’s still young.” The blonde agreed.

“So, as I was saying” The Major continued like he was interrupted by nothing of importance. “After Briareos here saved my life I asked him to accompany me back to the US and now we’re here.”

“But why?” Smith asked, securing his weapon again. “Why take an enemy’s child to the LAPD.”

“Because he’s a genius.” Knute grinned.

“Briareos, how old are you?”

The boy folded his arms, thinking, hard eyes upon the sitting man.

“Seven, Carl.” It was almost funny, the way the child used the name, saying the C to harsh and rolling the R, but looking at the man like they were on the same level.

“And how many men have you killed?”

The boy let his view slide over the different agents, ending at the Major.

“Two-hundred-eighty-five. I’m man.”

The Corporals gasped for air. This boy at the age of an elementary killed more humans than anyone should ever have to.

Knute smiled softly.

“Oh, impressive.” The boy looked emotionless. “But not impressive enough though. So I’m the one taking the lead here.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

“Briareos. I want you to spend more times with those two boys. And I want you to listen to them.”

The boy looked more than skeptical.

“You’re might be superior to them, but they know the rules and if you want to be part of my team, you need to go by those, agreed?”

For another time the boy regarded the two other ones.  
“They’re weak.” He stated. “I listen not to weak.”

“But I’m strong, so you’ll listen to me, don’t you?”

They shared a glance.

“Listen Briareos, you’re excellent in what you learned, you’re a man. But in everything else you’re still a child. I don’t need boys in my teams, but men. If you want to be part of the LAPD SWAT I need you to become a man.  Do you understand?”

“Sir?” Smith interrupted. “You want to recruit a… man this age? What will the chief say?”  
“He approved.” Knute answered simply.

“I’m man.” The boy said again, ignoring the grown man who was nothing but an infant in his eyes.

The Major leaned towards the boy.

“Then prove it by following my orders. If you do, I’ll make you the best SWAT member there ever was.”

After a moment the boy nodded.

“Fine. Jackson will show you your room. You rest today and tomorrow we’ll start your training.”

The boy followed the officer without even second guessing.

“Sir?” Smith asked again. “What’s with that boy? He could be a spy.”  
“Oh Smith, haven’t you listened at all?” The Major scolded dramatically, folding his legs. “He’s a man, and if you’d seen what I did you wanted him to join our forces as well.”

He stood up. “This boy is able to change the world, Smith, and I would prefer to have him on my side during a war.”

“You’re talking about one single child.”  
“Not a simple child. He’s former member of the KGB and the most wanted assassin in the world. He could kill any of us if he wanted to.”

“Yeah, Sir. That’s actually the problem. Why take someone so dangerous to LA? Why do you trust him?”

“Haven’t you noticed? He could have killed Jackson, but he didn’t. He can but he doesn’t want to. He’s capable of doing it all but it’s not his wish to do so. This child is an assassin but he isn’t a killer. That’s the difference.”

They left the room.

“Sir? Haven’t you actually killed only around fifty men?”

“Forty-seven, I know, but he doesn’t.”

 

He woke up.

_The best SWAT member there ever was_

And suddenly he was back.

Something was odd and it took him more than a second to realize what it was. His computer-brain was disconnected from his mind. This was not good.

There were only two reasons why they would separate. The better one would be that the capacity of his server was simply too exhausted to intake and support him with new data.

The other one was that his artificial brain was broken. If this was the case he was already doomed. He remembered the first and only time that had happened before. He had been captured within his Hecatonchires body, but he had lost all connection to the outside world. He had not been able to move, he had not been able to see, hear, feel or receive any sensation, not even pain. He had been caught in nothingness unable to do anything, but to wait for help. There were no time, no space. It felt like he had been in this bottomless dark for eternity.

The emergency-system had kept him alive, but he had felt like he had been in a coffin.

He remained calm. It was almost impossible for him to lose his coolness. He had seen too much, experienced too much. There was nothing that could actually scare him. Well, except for…

_Deunan_

And suddenly he remembered.

He remembered.

The MTC, the fight, the electronic tree.

He remembered the tension, because none of their comrades had arrived. He remembered Deunan’s snickering answer, but the worry in her eyes. He remembered how he plugged himself to the strange computer filled with secret data of Gaia.

He remembered the flow of information and how it took his all not to lose himself.

Okay. If his computer-brain was down it meant there had been a problem. The download of information had been interrupted, the disconnection had been unwanted.

This meant they had been attacked.

This meant Deunan had been attacked.

This meant she was in danger!

He had to remain calm! There was nothing he could do anyway if his computer-brain was broken.

So in silence he ordered his brain to boot up.

No reaction.

He ordered again.

No reaction.

He ordered for the back-up system to boot up.

Red light flashed up.

Somewhere within him he heard a silent beep, telling him that there were several damages.

The back-up system worked.

Relief spread through his body. Well actually only through his mind, because he could still not sense any of his body.

He ordered the system to detect any damages within the main-system. It took several seconds.

And again he was able to relax a little bit more. It could have been worse. He could have been broken; he could have been trapped within his mind again.

It wasn’t that bad.

There were some minor damages, like the heat-transfer membranes weren’t working or temperature control being blocked, making it impossible to change the own temperature as well as detecting the temperature around him. Problems like that weren’t good, could actually be quite bothersome, but they weren’t vital, he could manage.

It seemed his artificial brain had actually been able to collect most or even all of the data. The problem was that the unsecure disconnection had destroyed some basic system control devices, leading to internetting between unrelated information.

The data about his body-usage was intertwined with parts of his memory. The security system was tangled with the newly added data.

The borderless connection between his human mind and his computer-brain could be really dangerous because it was highly possible that his computer wasn’t able to filter anymore what information to give on and what not.

But as long as he stayed disconnected it was impossible for him to receive his senses.

And Deunan could be in danger!

He ordered his back-up system to re-upload his main system.

The beeping stopped.

During the next minutes the back-up system listed up all the damages he and his body received while his brain boosted up again.

The image of the young captain Knute flickered before his inner eye. He remembered the very first time he met him. He remembered how this young man kneeled on the ground looking up at the gun pointing at his forehead and his smile looked like he was still the one in command, like he was the one, who controlled the next moment.

He hadn’t even been scared, but determined. No, not determined. This man had looked like he had been in peace.

_You may kill me now, but you can never take my freedom_

Freedom

Peace

Those were the things he longed for, had always longed for.

Carl had granted him freedom, freed him from his slavery as a terrorist of the KGB, gave him the freedom to fight for peace.

Now he was so close to peace like he had never been before. He was with Deunan, they had found Eden.

But he wasn’t free anymore. He could never be free again.

_The best SWAT member there ever was_

Oh yes, he was the best. There was no one like him. He had already been one of the best, when he’d still been a child, as a grown man there had been no human alive, who could have beaten him.

And now as a machine he was unbeatable, undestroyable. Yes, he could still bleed, still age, and still die. But his superior mind mixed with this superior body was something closest to the ultimate human.

He was the best SWAT member there ever was, only for one reason.

_Deunan_

Slowly he could feel his senses starting to work again. His second brain was back alive.

The back-up system finished its analysis.

His legs were curshed, or at least totally disconnected of any information flow. Okay, could happen, they can fix that.

His back had several severe damages, but he didn’t bleed a lot. Most of them were fractures, his artificial skin strong enough to protect him from simple bruises. Luckily for him his chest and abdomen, where his sensitive human brain and other remaining natural organs were placed, had not suffered dangerous wounds.

It hurt, breathing hurt, but that was okay, that meant he was still alive.

His skull on the other side had seen better days. His “rabbit ears” were gone. Nothing of them left.

His nose – the big sensor in the middle of his face – was destroyed as well as all his eye sensors, except for the lower left one and the ones on his fingertips.

The back of his skull was cracked open, its broken pieces stamped into his computer-brain, damaging it. It was almost a miracle it was still able to work.

His computer-brain had disconnected the pain-receptors to his skull, for the amount of pain would have taken him out immediately.

His arms seemed to be quite okay, he could sense them, he could sense the pain, but it wasn’t that bad, it seemed they were fine except for one or two broken fingers.

Movement was not possible, there was no sense of touch, he could not hear.

The damage list was huge and it was hard for him to concentrate on it, because it was not the simple flow of information he was used to, but a stream of different data, interrupted by hard binary data, interrupted by memories of his past, interrupted by warning signals, interrupted by false error messages. His computer-brain was not capable of filtering anymore, offering his human brain any information it got and now he had to filter them with his own mind, it was like straining the wild ocean.

An ordinary human would break under this surge of sensation, information, thoughts, data, unable to cope it, to separate, to concentrate.

An ordinary human would go insane within thirty seconds or so.

But he wasn’t an ordinary human. He had experienced similar situations before, maybe not as worse, but well it was as it was. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t painless, it wasn’t affectless, but he could manage.

He realized the odd way his arms were laying around, like they were around something, like they wanted to protect something and he knew without knowing that this could only be Deunan.

He had to remain calm!

The first thing he did was to send the emergency-signal. His power-level was surprisingly well, maybe he was charged by the strange tree he was plugged in. But because of his critical level of concentration he assumed he would be able to keep it up for maybe four minutes, not much longer and he had no idea for how long he had been in this situation. The back-up folders of the last few hours were buried somewhere within his computer-brain, so he had only his human mind memories to rely on.

His wireless connection was broken, no surprise, so his comrades had only his signal to locate him and they had only this limited time, bad luck as always.

The second thing he did was to put the concentration on his last working eye sensor. It turned on but he still saw only darkness. Luckily his night vision device was working partly. Colors or body heat weren’t working, but he could at least see some different shadows of black, grey, and white. Not great, but that was all he could work with.

He was surrounded by rubble, stones and woods, probably underground. He assumed the house they had been in, did collapse and buried him with it.

He stirred his sight sensor down, regarding his own arms. They hugged a small figure, protecting it like a mother would her child, like a lover would his love. He could not feel anything, but in his arms he saw the calm face of the one person he could never lose.

 Deunan’s eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open. Some grey, dried fluid stuck at her cheek, he was more than certain it was blood.

He froze.

His eyesight was bad, he could not see the color of her skin, and he could not see if her chest – clasped against his own – was rising or not. He was deaf, he could not hear if her heart was pounding, if she was breathing. He could not feel, he didn’t know if she was warm or cold, if she was losing blood or not, if she was moving or not.

He couldn’t remain calm!

_The best SWAT member there ever was_

Hell with that!

People envied him for his body, for his technical advantage.

They didn’t know, they didn’t know.

He was the best in his job, he was the one never failing a mission, his body was a perfect tool, a perfect weapon.

But all he wanted to be was alive; all he wanted was to be human.

What’s the point of being the perfect agent, the perfect weapon, the ultimate human if he was not even capable to check if the love of his life was alive?

If he were a mere human he would have probably died, but maybe not, maybe not and then he would have been able to touch her cheek, feel her pulse, feel her skin. He would know how she would feel, not by some sensors, telling him the components of her skin and giving him an impression of how he was supposed to feel her. He would know if she breathed or not, he would know if he was drenched in warm or already cold fluid, would smell if it was her blood or not.

But he was no mere human. He was a human mind trapped within a cyborg’s body.

He wasn’t able to speak, to move, to do anything but to wait.

So he laid there and waited, waited for help, waited for Deunan to move, for something to happen.

The flow of information wasn’t even bothering him anymore, for all he thought about, was whether she was alive or not.

The fear within him was unbearable, suffocating him, tearing him apart.

But the emergency system was making sure his necessary bodily functions kept working.

He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he wanted to do anything, but he was trapped.

He spent an eternity like this, praying to a God he did not believe in that she might be alive, breaking every passing second a little bit more, altering a little bit more.

If he could sense her, he’d had assurance.

But he couldn’t sense anything, so he wept silently for he might have lost her.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 

He watched the landscape they were passing, not really caring for it, even though it was pretty to look at. This country was different from what he had seen. The sudden changes from rural to urban areas, the great ocean, the setting sun.

It was beautiful to watch and he wondered why he thought this way. When did he start thinking that something could be beautiful?

“So, what do you think?”

He turned to the man driving the car. Scanning his profile once more, even though he already knew this face by every little detail.

“The Commander’s stupid. There’ll be war. Childish he don’t see.”

The blonde laughed.

“General?” He asked. It was still difficult for him to read those folks here. Their natural gestures and social behavior was different from what he was used to. Those men here played with words and acted to fool another.

Except for this man, he was clear, he was easier for him to understand, at least most of the time.

“Ah, I wasn’t talking about that. Although I agree with you. Commander Burr tries to hold onto old values, but he doesn’t see that the US needs to prepare. But I do understand him. Not all have grown up in combat, my friend. It’s only natural they’re scared of it and try to avoid it.”

He looked outside again, listening to his supervisor’s words.

“He close his eyes to truth, it’s stupid. He kill his own comrades.”

The older man nodded.

“You must tell him. He listen you.”

“No, he doesn’t. Lately he doubts a lot of my opinions. He thinks I’m too young for my rank.”

“He’s still a child.”

The blonde laughed softly.

“According to your rules I’m a child as well, but you’re still listening to my orders.”

The man padded his shoulder, not looking at him but paying attention to the road.

“You’re smart child.”

He said, dodging the hand half-heartedly.

Now the man laughed even louder.

“You’re a smart man as well, my friend.”

“General?”  
“Sergeant.”

“What do I think of what?” He went back to the original question.

“Oh!” The older ones green eyes grew big as he turned towards him, ignoring the street completely.

He pointed at his chin.

“What do you think of this?”

For a moment he wasn’t sure what the other man was talking about, pointing at this thin blond down at his chin. He knew the other one was trying to grow it for several weeks by now, even though he didn’t know why it was of such importance or why it was such a difficult task.

Because he wasn’t reacting the blonde rolled his eyes.

“Do you think it fits me? Do I look more of a man to you?”

Confused he met the other one’s view. It took him long to understand. They had switched from business to private. _Private,_ something he had never heard of before. Once again he realized how different the people here were, there were so many important things they didn’t see, but they paid attention to something trivial like hair.

But he was asked for his opinion and it was his way of giving an honest, serious answer, so he compared the new image of his superior to the one of his memories.

“So?” The older one asked impatiently.

“Yes, you look older.”

The blonde grinned foolishly.

“But still a child.”

“What?!”

He turned away and leaned against the window, watching the country named California drowning in darkness as the sun disappeared behind the ocean.

This land was different, those people were different and he felt like he was different, too.

A shadow of a smile crossed his lips.

“It’s not bad to be a child, Carl.”

 

His only connection to the outside world was his lower left eye sensor.

The pain had dulled, telling him, that either his pain receptors were about to break down or his human brain wasn’t able to cope anymore.

His emergency signal died out minutes or hours ago. Neither his clock nor his timer was working.

Not that he cared, he cared for nothing.

He felt nothing.

He thought nothing.

His complete being was filled with only one thing.

_Deunan_

Somewhere deep within him his human mind tried to sort all the data his computer-brain was throwing at him, trying to differ between important and unimportant things.

But he didn’t care.

At some point his vision was blinded by light, but he didn’t care.

He saw how the rubble of stones and dust was lifted from his damaged mechanical body, but he didn’t care.

He saw blurred black-and-white moving pictures of faces he knew and of faces he didn’t knew, but he didn’t care.

He saw how blurred shadows in dark clothes tried to pull his heavy body out the debris surrounding him, but he didn’t care.

He saw how blurred white figures tried to free the fragile being out of his protective embrace, but he didn’t care.

He saw how one of them broke his right arm, because it seemed to be impossible to free the woman otherwise, but he didn’t care.

At some point he was surrounded by darkness again, feeling like he faded into a dreamless sleep, but he didn’t care.

For what reason was he alive? He was alive to protect her, to guard her, to love her.

As long as he was alive he would give her anything he had.

But what would he do, if she wasn’t alive anymore.

He didn’t know, because he didn’t know if she was alive.

Because he couldn’t feel anything and he didn’t care.

 

“Have you seen that boy over there? What’s a kid doing at the Major’s desk?”

“Haven’t you heard of him yet? You’re not from LA, are you?”  
“No, I just moved here and were supposed to call myself in by Major General Knute.”  
“Yeah, good luck with that, he’s of work for the next couple of weeks, his wife’s expecting. Major _Man_ is his cover.”

“Who?”

“The kiddo over there. He’s our boss for now, believe it or not.”  
“Jackson?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Close the door.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t even look up while he read the papers in front of him. He hated paperwork, but Carl had told him numerous times how important it was to not only train one’s body but one’s mind as well. He had spent hours and hours with Carl, Jackson and Smith reading books, learning their language, history and culture.

But he was still barely able to understand those people and he was fluent in English by now.

“Jackson”  
“Sir?” The black-haired man under his direct order sat across the table, working on papers as well, it was a bad day. Paperwork was always a bad day.

“Tell me again, why they talk.”

The Sergeant grinned slightly. They had met over two years ago, when he tried to kill him, they were used to each other by now.

“It’s strange for people like us, Sir. Usually you don’t have underage people work. It’s forbidden by the US-Law. Don’t you know the law? We read it about three month ago.”

“Yes, I do. But I’m working; the Major General brought me to US to work.”

“True. But’s still not normal to have a kid in a leading position.”

He looked up, meeting the other’s view.

“Make no fun of me.”  
“Yes, Major Man.”

“Why do they call me that?”

“Because you call yourself a man even though you’re underage. In their eyes you’re still a child.”  
“I never understand your strange rule of calling a person man or boy by age.”

The black-haired one grinned on. In the beginning their relationship had been difficult. It seemed the people here had problems to work under someone younger than they were. Age was important.

But Carl was young as well, younger than most of them, and he did rose up fast. When he first had met that odd blonde he had been a Sergeant, now not even three years later he was Major General of the LAPD SWAT.

He didn’t understand much of those ranks, didn’t really care, but he knew that it was unusual, he knew by the looks his superior got by others, the talk he heard.

But Carl was smart and quick-witted. He was one of few who were able to cope the war, one of the few who might were able to save the American borders, that’s why he climbed up the ladder quick.

Yes, intelligence was important as well, knowledge. That’s why Carl urged him to learn, never stopping, never pausing.

He knew it was strange for this country, a man his age, not even ten, to be in a leading position, being a Major or how they called it.

But it was the war at fault.

He was born in war, before he could talk he knew how to load a gun, before he had been able to walk he had shoot his first enemy. He wasn’t like those children of this country.

They gave him a title so they could manage their paperwork, they tried to fit him in, even though they were breaking several laws. He was underage, had no papers, no real name. He was everything against the odd, but they wanted him. They needed him. They even paid him money. Strange, thin papers with funny faces on.

But the truth was, he was here, working for Major General Knute, the only man he would listen to, even though Carl was still a child. Fifty-two. He had passed that number when he was around five. He had learned counting by bringing men down.

Carl had told him that he was unusually smart for a person, he didn’t care, but he thought that those people here were stupid. War was stupid, cruel, but the only thing he knew, had known for seven long years. The last few had been like a strange, unreal dream.

By now he was accustomed to most of the strange rituals of this country. He even understood that ranks mattered. This was the only reason, why Sergeant Jackson listened to him. Because he was ordered to.

The newcomer knocked against the door and opened it. Looking confused and startled at him.

Yes, age mattered here.

“Corporal Moralez, I assume?”

Jackson stood up and greeted the man. “Sergeant Jackson, good to have you here.”  
The man nodded but looked at him.

He looked back, waiting for this man’s reaction, reading him already. Was this man of usage? Could he train him to be good enough for Carl’s team? That was his job after all.

He saluted. Something strange people here did. “Major. I’m glad to be here.”

“You’re not.”

The man was startled.

“You’re surprised, because I’m young. You expected Major General Knute. He’s not here. You expected a General to replace him. General Morgan died two days ago. General Lee and Schulz are in action right now. Staff is down to minimum here. I’m filling in.”

The man had obviously hard times controlling his emotions. He didn’t know yet, why he was here. At the extra special force of the LAPD, the secret ESWAT. It was a small team, founded a little bit than a year ago. Secret, nobody except for the SWAT Unit new about them, not even other police departures, for now at least.

Commander Watson led it. He replaced Burr after the war broke out, only overruled by the Chief of police, who himself didn’t knew anything about the special unit yet. Watson had given Knute all power he needed, allowing him to do whatever he wanted, as long as he was able to save this country.

Carl did, by placing him, a young immigrant and a wanted assassin as his right-hand man.

They had only one job, to train their team to perfection, a team they chose themselves out of all forces of the nation. And even though he had difficulties with their country, with their culture, with their rules, he was the best in his job, maybe except for Carl himself.

And that’s why those others were scared of him. Because they thought of him as a child. And in their mind it was impossible for a child to be already that dangerous.

“I can tell what you think, because you’re weak.”

The man was more confused.

“Jackson, why is a weak boy here?”

“He’s not here for training, Sir. He takes care of the newest technology. He’s no soldier.”

“But he’s Corporal?”

He thought ranks meant somebody was a soldier, not a civilian.

“Because I have already worked for the NYPD, Sir.”  
He was surprised how fast the man had caught himself.

He nodded and went back to his work, letting Jackson take care of this man.  They left the office.

The door was closed by somebody else, by Smith, his other underling since the beginning.

He liked Smith; he knew some words of his native language, because he spent half a year stationed not far away from his hometown. He was smart.

“Smith?” He said, regarding some files he had just filled out.

The man didn’t turn around but searched for some folders at the cupboard next to him.

“Major?”

“What’s your first name?”

Now he turned around, a serious look on his face.

“Why are you asking, Sir?”

He folded the files and put them away.

“They call me Major Man, you know?”

He laughed softly. “I do.”  
“They don’t call me Major Briareos because it’s my first name and because they’re too stupid to say it right.”

“Major.”

He faced the other one.

“May I advice you at something?”

He nodded. He had been ordered to learn from Smith, that’s what he did.

“I know our structures are odd for you, but try to go with it, it will make a lot of things easier. Choose a family name, so the staff can call you correctly. Nobody is supposed to call your first name, but your friends and family. My first name is Aaron, Sir, but to keep private from business I think it’s better to stay with Smith.”

He thought for a moment.

“I have no family.” He said cold. “So I have no family name.”

Smith shrugged his shoulders. “Then they will keep calling you other names.”

He went for the door.

“Oh, just by the way, Major.”  
Their eyes met again.

“I know we’re all children in your mind, but try to show less of how low you think of us. Arrogance and a lack of respect do not only hinder friendship, they might even lead to ill will. And you don’t want a bullet between your shoulder blades once we’re back outside.”

“Not that they can.” He answered while the Sergeant closed the door.

He had not said yes to this, had not agreed to leading troops, training them, had not agreed to do paperwork, to the structures of this country, had not agreed to adjust to this lifestyle, all he had agreed to, was to work for Carl Knute.

_Carl_

He had told him to call him by his first name, had named him his friend several times.

Everybody liked Carl, even though he was too young to be actually leading this departure.

He was part of this world now. Maybe friendship was something that could only grow within peace.

The door opened again and Jackson and Moralez came back in, discussing the schedule for the first days.

“What’s this?” He interrupted them and pointed at a piece of paper, sticking out of the folder the newbie was holding.

He blushed, but pulled it out and showed it to him.

It showed a vehicle with only two wheels, colored in red and black.

“My Davina.” The Corporal grinned.

“Davina?” He repeated.

“Yes, I named her. She’s my piece of freedom.”  
He looked at that man for another second, and then he offered his hand.

“George Moralez, right? My name is Briareos, nice to meet you.”

 

White

The world was white.

A soft buzzing filled the air.

_Hospital_

For another time.

Damn it, what had happened?

Oh yeah, the mission, the MTC, the crazy scientist, the explosion.

How did she survive?

_Briareos!_

“Oh, good evening Deunan.”

She sat straight in her bed, staring across the room.

Her dear friend Hitomi just entered said room, a soft smile on her lips, yellow flowers in one hand, a filled vase in the other one.

“I am glad you are awake. Commander Lance was already slightly worried.”

She placed the flowers on a small table and went her way over.

“You’ve been out for almost two days.”

Deunan looked down her body, there were bandages and scraped skin, but the pain was bearable. At least one rib was broken, but actually after what she remembered she had needed more than a guardian angel to even be alive right now, not even talking about the few injuries she apparently had.

“What about Briareos?” She asked sharply. Not worrying about herself but only about the one person she needed in her life.

Hitomi’s friendly face could not hide the truth.

“Hitomi!”  
The young bioroid sat down.

“Tell me what’s with Briareos!”  
“We don’t know yet.”

A calm, dark voice from the door made her head spin around.

Commander Lance, looking even older than usually, closed the door behind him.

“Good to see you awake. Has the doctor already seen you?”  
“Commander!” She urged, tears in her eyes already.

She was scarred.

He nodded, leaning against the wall and folding his arms.

“The mission was a success, as always. No survivors on the enemy’s side, complete destruction of the stolen data of Gaia. It appears Briareos was successful in downloading all information we needed. The only two drops of bitterness are for one that we couldn’t catch Prof. Wilder and for the other the damage on our side.”  
His face was calm, his voice showed no unwanted emotion.

“You know we lost all in all four teams, 5S, 5T, 5U and 5M.”  
Names and images flashed in front of her inner eye. She remembered her comrades laughing, as well as their dead corpses she found that day. But she didn’t even remember 5M falling as well. Johnson and McKinsey. Even though this mission had seemed so simple, they had to pay a lot. She couldn’t remember any mission since she was part of this team with so many losses.

“What about my partner?” She asked more collected now. If he wasn’t lost he had to be alive, right?

“He was buried with you.”   
She remembered how they fell, how she dug her nails into his artificial skin, how she embraced him with all she had.

“He is severely injured.”

She remembered how he was unconscious, his human brain knocked out by his computer-brain, how his arms surrounded her before the world collapsed around them.

He had protected her, even unconscious.

“Will he survive?”

“I’m certain of it.”

This wasn’t a real _Yes_ , but it was better than an unsecure one.

Suddenly the door opened again and a tall man in white clothes came inside.

“Miss Knute. Good evening.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

 

“You simply can’t! You have to be sixteen.”

“What? That’s stupid.”

“Stop calling everything stupid just because you don’t like it.”

“I’m a man and I’m leading this division, but I’m…”

“You’re only the substitute for the Major General, you know? And stop acting like it’s all my fault.”  
“Aren’t you two supposed to be working?”

Jackson and he looked up. Smith had just entered the room, a tower of folders in his arms.

“You know the Major General is coming back tomorrow and we have to get this done.”  
“No problem.” The dark skinned boy grinned evil. “Jackson will stay longer today.”

“What?” The black-haired man stared at him. “Why?”  
“Because I say so.”

“That’s not fair. It’s not my fault you’re too young, Briareos, don’t make me pay for it.”  
“Too young for what?”

Smith placed the folders in front of his comrade and stared at the brochure between the two soldiers.

“A motorbike. For you?”  
He nodded.

“Why?”  
He didn’t answer.

The last few weeks had been good.

Thanks to a new contract with Europe the ceasefire lasted almost two months now, allowing Major General Knute to stay by his wife and his newborn daughter.

Since the fighting paused the mood was lighter than before, new hope rose that the war would end before it actually began.

The special departure he was leading for the moment, because the Major General and the Generals were on furlough, had become something like his home, not that he actually knew what _home_ meant. But he had spent most of his time here, training his agents by day and taking care of the paperwork by night.

He had always been ready to work for peace and freedom, and right now it was almost close enough to touch it, even more reason to raising the bar. War was dying out.

At some point he had realized how other officers had started to stay longer as well, to work harder as well. He praised them for that, using words he heard Carl use before.

Tomorrow Carl would return.

He had been leading this team now for almost three months. Not alone of course. Smith and Jackson were always at his side. Comparing their situation to the young kings of long gone kingdoms, who led nations, while still being nothing more than ignorant brats and relying completely upon the knowledge of their counselors.

He had read articles and books about those kings. Realizing their faults were more than a lack of knowledge and intelligence, but rather a lack in social abilities, often leading to their early deaths.

A lot of things had changed.

He tried to become part of this country, even though he would probably always be that strange, immigrant child.

“Have you seen her already?”  
He looked up.

“Who?”  
“Knute’s babygirl, of course? I heard he calls you almost every night, while you still work. Haven’t you met him, when his girls came home?”

“We met two weeks ago, but Gilliam was still in hospital. I have never been at their house.”  
“What?”  
Jackson let go of his papers.

“You’re practically his son. He spent the last three years raising you and you’ve never been at his place?”

“I like to keep private from business.” He stated clearly.

He met Carl’s wife two times, one time with a small belly, one time with a big one. She seemed nice, for a female. But he didn’t like girls. Most of them were weak. But she was smart, not the Carl-smart, but she worked with technology and computers, a researcher, nothing he could really grasp, nothing he could really understand.

“Has he ever asked you?”  
“Yes. He asked me to live with him, when I came here.”

“And you rejected?”

He didn’t say anything. Those two men couldn’t understand.

He wasn’t able to sleep in a house with another living being inside. He wasn’t able to relax with another person in the same room.

It took him ages to trust Carl at least a little, but only because he knew, he could still beat him if it came face to face; he could beat any of them, even all at once, because unlike those soldiers, he was always in the state of alert.

“Briareos” Smith’s lecturing voice reached for him.

“Next time the Major General invites you over, you accept. It’s impolite to keep rejecting an invitation, especially from your superior. Understand?”

He nodded.

The phone ringed.

It was General Schulz, she wasn’t coming back for service, they diagnosed cancer, she said. In her brain. She sounded like she had been crying before. She said that she wanted to join a special experimental run, for artificial brains, because her real brain started to dissolve. She asked him to send the medical records the departure had to her doctors so they could check if she was suitable test object.

He did.

But for the rest of the day he wondered how strange the human body was and if it could be possible to replace parts of it by a machine.

Impossible.

Maybe he should start to pay more interests to those things. After all, technology was never pausing in its development.

 

She was alive.

She was alive.

That was the only thing he was told about her so far.

Not actually told, because he was still not capable of hearing, they had sent this information by data. So he simply knew.

But that was alright. At least he knew that she was alive.

They had been found forty-six hours ago, he was in this lab for the last forty of it. Dozens of scientists worked on him. Some of them were extracting the collected data from his damaged brain. Some of them tried to repair his brain, little by little. Some of them took care of his wounds. Some of them tried to fix his body.

He let them to, whatever they needed to do. It wasn’t like he could stop them anyway.

They had asked him if it was possible to disconnect his mind from the artificial brain. He denied it.   
He preferred the never-ending flow of information to nothingness. It was like someone picking in his head. Pulling out multiple thoughts, memories and emotions at once and sorting it. He didn’t know if the scientist were able to read those things. If they saw it like he did or if it was just some binary data for them.

He hoped for the later, because it contained his most private thoughts, but he couldn’t change it if not.

It was strange to suddenly remember unrelated memories, one time he saw General Schulz face, the next moment the commander he shoot back at that time, when he save Carl. Meanwhile he saw a smiling Deunan, sleeping against his human shoulder.

In the background French grammar and vocabulary rushed up and down, at some place mixed with English.

A picture of an old mountain, a landscape, a landmate, Gaia.

The smell of trees, gunpowder, blood.

Suddenly in between those more or less familiar memories he saw things he didn’t recall.

A journal about some research. Talking about a first test objective. Talking about failure, talking about success.

And suddenly he saw a body-scan. But not any body-scan, he remembered that x-ray very well, it was part of his memories, would never fade.

It was his own, after that one day sixteen years ago, legs gone, arms gone, lower part of the abdomen crushed, skull crushed, face gone, spine smashed and ripped apart, ribs broken, but alive, somehow alive.

The test-object the journal was talking about was him. The data the researcher stole, the data they had to retrieve was about him. This mission had been because of him.

But how could that scientist know all that about him? How could he found those infor…

He indulged into the secret data, as long as it was close to his mind. Taking it all in, searching for the answers he wanted for all those years.

The man they were supposed to catch, the man who stole the data and turned out to be their enemy was the man who had saved him that day. The man who gave him this body, who turned him into a cyborg, but not just any cyborg, but a Hecatonchires. The crazy scientist had been his savior, Dr. Wilder.

For hours he inhaled that information, while someone outside of his brain tugged out parts of it little by little.

After something that could be eternity, they stole the last pieces; the only last thing he read was something about a temporary replacement and something about genetic.

The sudden loss of information flow overstrained his normal brain and he blacked out.

 

“I’m surprised.”

“Because I haven’t shot them yet? Yeah, me too.”

The blonde laughed.

“No, that’s amazing. You did it! You made it all work.”  
He looked up to the young man, who was standing beside him in his office, hands at his hips and looking through the glass-walls at his officers.

“It’s all running smoothly. I’m impressed.”  
“Because the war ended. Watson already wants to terminate our unit. He sent the letter this morning.”

“What did you answer?”

“I sent him a copy of his speech why our unit was needed, when he ran for Commander. The world is the same, the war comes. This peace is of short time.”

His boss nodded.

“Good of you. But don’t worry, he won’t shorten us. It’s only natural that in a post-war-time people try to calm the aftereffects. Our team is seen as a threat by other countries. The letter was nothing more than politics. The ESWAT unit will stay.”  
They both resigned back to work. It felt like it would never stop.

The days were hard. It was better, now that Carl was back, but it wasn’t easy to cope.

He was still not used to the paper work.

He got up at four in the morning, went for a run, went for some workout, and was in the office by five thirty. Carl would be there at that time. They had their first staff meeting with the other supervisors at six. After the staff meeting at seven he would take the trainees for their training. Break at twelve, for them. He would take his lunch inside of his office, filling out files about the newbies he was supposed to grade. At one o’clock Smith would come and pick him up, while Jackson or Carl took care of the training. They would visit other departures across the country or interview officers from other departures of the country, looking for new members for their elite-team.

Every other day he would stay for training and Carl would leave.

They usually returned by five in the evening, sometimes later.

He would return to the left-over paperwork, finishing it as quickly as possible. At six Carl would return from training, together they spent the next hours on reading and watching news, working on strategies, reading articles about new weapon and so on.

Around eight-thirty Carl would leave. He would head for his room at the first floor after another round of training.

It was a simple room. Plain, Smith said. Sad, Jackson said. But more than enough for him. A bed, a desk and a bath for his own. More than he ever had before.

He would spend the evening by training his mind, reading Shakespeare, history books and learning other languages. Lately he had found a liking at the old Greek mythology, for he appeared to be named after one figure of it. He liked the resemblance of that tale to his own life, picturing Carl as the God Zeus.  
He wondered who had given him that name, certainly not his mother or any other person of that village, none of them would have ever heard anything about Greece, let alone its history.

He knew he was different to most children of this country he lived in now. Even most men didn’t live the life he did, but it wasn’t like he hated it. It seemed like he couldn’t stop.

He hated when his body urged him to go to sleep, or to go to eat, or to go to the restroom.

He hated the time he wasted by doing something unproductive. But Carl told him to take proper care of his body, for it was the only one he had.

But there was so much to learn, so much he wanted to know.

Carl told him he had time, he would have decades to learn all he wanted and he hadn’t even lived one yet.

But he knew Carl was wrong. Most of his comrades had died before they had turned twelve. The older ones were usually really smart or real cowards. But some of them even lived up to twenty.

Apparently people lived longer in the US. He didn’t know how long humans could live, if they weren’t killed by bullets, knives, diseases or natural disaster. But Carl was already twenty-three or something like that and he had only one daughter yet.

He knew his mother had been fourteen when he was born, and had died before he was one.

His home country was destroyed by war. Warlords fighting for land, for power, and he had been in between.  All the peace, other continents had tried to bring to his native country had only brought more war, lead to an even more horrifying fate. Africa once had been poor, but now it was hell.

When the KGB took him in he had been happy actually. He thought he would be saved. But he had been wrong.

Now he was afraid to feel happy again. He needed to learn as much as possible, so he could stay alive when this period of peace was over, when war would return, when he would be alone again.

He had one free day the week. _Free-time_ , something you can only have when you’re free.

He would usually spent this day training, either body or mind.

But this day was different. Carl took him to his house.

They drove for about half an hour.   
He liked to drive. He could see more of the world than if he was running and he loved to open the window so he could feel the fresh air. It was useless wasted time, but it was the only time when neither his body nor his mind were running.

Carl would talk most of the time. He listened to it. Tried to understand this strange world.

His superior would boast about his babydaughter, not even two weeks old and already being far ahead of other infants her age, of course.

It was an odd side of Carl. He knew the deadly serious Carl, the cool, determined Carl, and the light, friendly Carl, but this one was new. This one was full of emotions, laughing, yelling, and almost crying while talking.

It confused him.

They arrived at some simple house, made of beautiful white stones. He had never seen white stones before.

Inside he was greeted by Carl’s wife, the researcher. They ate together, for the first time in his life he ate homemade food.

He had never known that food was supposed to taste, that you were supposed to eat what you like. He had grown up eating anything eatable.

From this day on Carl would bring him a little box filled with self-made food daily.

At some point a little walkie-talkie reacted to some crying. Gilliam left and seconds later it stopped.

Carl talked with him about the close future. About how he was scared for his daughter to grow up during war, about his daughter not growing up at all.

It was strange for him to hear how someone cared so deeply for another person. Was this affection the so-called _love_ he had read about so much?

He wanted to tell Carl that if his daughter was smart and strong, she would survive. But he had the feeling that it was wrong to say it, even though it was true.

So when his wife returned, with the little bundle in her arms, he asked if he could hold her.

He had never held a baby before. But it was precious to Carl and he wanted to know why.

Gilliam laughed softly and handed her child over.

He looked at the small, soft face. The pale skin, almost as pale as Carl’s even though Gilliam was of a darker tone, the soft blonde hair.

The baby smiled. It looked like it was happy, it looked like it was at peace.

“What’s her name?”

“Deunan. Deunan Knute.”

It was the first time he held her and suddenly he understood Carl. He wanted this baby to keep smiling the way it did know. He wanted it to stay a child. It was like a single ray of light in the darkness.

“I will protect you, Deunan Knute.”


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 

“So, how is it? You’re having a good time?”

“You’re not actually asking me that?”

“You don’t like it?”

The voice of the Major General seemed worried, even though it was hard to tell because of the bad connection.

He stared at the phone in his hand, like he tried to picture his superior. He didn’t like when Carl worried about him.

“I’m fine. I just don’t like it.”

“You want to come home?”

It wasn’t a joke. It was a serious question.

“Don’t act like I’m a child.”  
“I’m not! I’m just saying…”

“Would you ask Aaron? Would you ask Nathaniel?”

“No, but what’s...”  
“I’m you subordinate, Carl. I followed your order as my Major General. I answered your private question as a friend. You have to separate those things.”

“Wow, who’s the boss now?”  
“You act strange lately, Carl. Don’t let your emotions cloud your mind.”

He received no answer.

“What is it?”  
The line was silent for another second.

“Your English has improved.”

“Of course. I’ve been more than four years in the US.”  
“Yes, it’s almost five years since you saved my life.”  
“Carl. What do you want? I got work to do. Those idiots here need to learn, I’m their boss even though I’m half their age.”

The man on the other side of the line laughed.

“You’ll never change, Briareos. Don’t be too tough on them. Those Europeans aren’t used to your way yet and we need them as allies.”  
“But it’s annoying! One guy even thought I was Nathaniel’s son. I mean, come on! Nathaniel! He’s white like paper and his brain is half of mine.”

The Major General laughed again.

“Give it a try. You didn’t like LA at first, too. You’re in former Germany. Those guys over there love their rules even more than we do. It must be hard for them to be ordered around by an underage.”

“Yeah, yeah. I read their history, about being multiple different countries up until like thirty years ago. That’s why they all talk different languages. Okay. I’ve to go now.”

He hung up.

Stupid Carl.

Just because of his little girl’s birthday he wanted to stay in LA. _Birthday_ another strange things that was important to those people.

He actually didn’t mind it. He knew how Carl cared for his child, and she turned three tomorrow.

His bad mood was actually caused by something else, he couldn’t sleep. Since they had left LA he couldn’t sleep.

Since he arrived in Europe, more than four weeks ago, he couldn’t sleep.

Because of their new treaty with Europe the US had agreed to support the training of their special forces. And as being one of the best Generals – and probably more than partly because he was the newest one in their little round – he was sent there to supervise their training. The ESWAT was no secret anymore, since the time of peace seemed to end soon.

The Europeans looked at him like the members of his team did four years ago. A boy –not even twelve - was in a leading position.

Crazy American, they said.

He ignored them.

But Carl was wrong. He did change, he had changed a lot. He had met peace. He had met freedom. He wanted to keep both, but the Europeans new quarrels with Russia put a threat to that.

And Carl had changed as well. He was smiling less than before. Always showing this worried look. He was worried for the world; he was worried for his country, for his little girl. He spent more time at home now, tried to spend time with his family.

Carl had asked him often to take a vacation and to visit him at home.

But he didn’t go. _Vacation_ he didn’t need something like that, if the world was on the verge of war. And he didn’t have a family, so he didn’t need to spend time useless.

And he didn’t go because this little girl was there. She scared him. She scared him, because she was able to change everyone’s behavior. Especially Carl’s.  And because she rose that feeling within him, that he wanted to guard her. Just because she was special to Carl. He didn’t like this feeling. It wasn’t good, it was weakening him. He couldn’t allow any weakness, weakness would kill him.

“Briareos?” He looked up as Aaron entered the room. His face was deadly serious.

“What’s wrong?”

“The European Commander just received declaration of war from Russia. We’ll be evacuated and leave for the States by tonight.”  
That was unexpected.

“Why? Aren’t we supposed to help them? Their forces lack quality. They need to be trained. Even more if they have to fight for real.”  
Aaron nodded.

“The declaration wasn’t on Europe but on us. If we don’t leave the country, they’ll attack Europe.”  
“And Europe tries to avoid it by sending us away.” He finished the sentence.

The world was on the verge of war. He wasn’t sure if the politicians actually tried to stop it. But if, they were failing, it seemed impossible to keep peace alive.

Africa had been a place of combat before he was born. The US and Russia had an on and of relationship, struggling between short fighting sequences and weak treaties. The Asian continent had fallen to their war. The former nation Japan was destroyed after a dispute against China. China was partly taken in by Russia, the left-over was war zone. Grave for thousand of different soldiers.

Europe had tried to stay out of it, just like South America, seeking alliance with Australia.

Now it looked like the US brought war to Europe, they had to leave, if not the US would lose their last ally, for South America was still weak after the war with Africa over twenty years ago.

They said war was ruled by politics, but they were wrong, politics were ruled by war, by the will to sacrifice and the will to fight, to survive.

History books told about a time of world-peace about eighty years ago. Unimaginable today.

“Let’s pack and leave.” He ordered.

On his way out he met Nathaniel. The idiot with black hair he wanted to kill almost every other day. He looked troubled.

“General?” He asked in an unusual polite tone.

“Sergeant.”

He dismissed Major Smith and went back inside with his new company.

“You heard we’re moving?” He asked plain.

The man nodded.

“I need a favor.” He asked.

“I cannot give you any more money, you know I’m saving. You should stop the gambling. Aaron is right, you…”  
“I don’t need money.”

They were silent.

Over the last couple of years Nathaniel had found a liking in playing cards, but he wasn’t good in it. He had given him almost half of all the money he’d earned during that time. He didn’t care for money and he didn’t need it, but Aaron had told him, that he was actually not helping his friend and told him to spend his money differently.

He had donated a lot of it. Send Carl’s baby girl countless of presents, everything Nathaniel or Aaron told him a little girl could like.

But he still had money left.

During the last month the US passed a new law, lowering the age for two-wheel vehicles form sixteen to fourteen. He was almost twelve now. He lived in something close to peace for almost four years now. Maybe he could for another two years.

He had never lived for another coming day, never cared about tomorrow.

But now he was saving money, just because Aaron told him to do something else than to give it to Nathaniel.

“So I’m sure you’re not asking for another training session.”

“Could you sign this?”  
Nathaniel held up a formula.

He had seen one of those before. It wasn’t a simple furlough.

“I’m not entitled to sign this.”  
He said after a pause.

“And even if, why should I?”  
Dark eyes met his.

“You’re the leading agent here. It would be only a temporal instruction until the Commander at home can sign the real one.”  
“You don’t want to be evacuated?”

The man nodded.

“You want to stay. Why?”

Jackson smiled.

“I met a girl, Briareos.”  
He looked up.

“She’s great. She works for the new landmate production. She’s a fighter, you would like her.”

“Doubt so.” He murmured, but he recognized that glow. It was the same glow Carl had, talking about his wife, talking about his little girl. It was the same glow, Aaron showed talking about Alexander.

“You want to stay because of her?”  
The man nodded again.

“The heart wants what the heart wants.”

He knew a man fighting for a country so his daughter could grow up in peace.

He knew a man waiting at home for his great love to return from war.

He knew a man wanting to stay in danger so he could stay close to a girl he just met.

He sighed, taking the paper.

“You’re an idiot. You’ll get killed.”

“I’ll gladly die for her, Briareos.”  
He turned around, grasping a pen from his desk.

“Hereby I sign your temporal resignation, allowing you to stay in Europe.”

He handed it back.

“You’re an idiot, Nathaniel, but I really hope she’s worth it, you’re a good boy, would be bad to lose you.”  
The man nodded.

“Thanks General. Maybe the next time we meet I’m a man as well.”

“Take care of your girl, Sergeant, that’s more important than being a man.”

 

“You’re looking good.”

The door was opened by his Commander.

“The doctors – can we even call them that? – did some work to put you back together.”  
He didn’t answer, because he couldn’t.

They had fixed most part of his artificial brain, allowing him to sense again. But they weren’t done yet. Except for his head he was still not able to move, not able to talk.

He was laying upright in a huge, white bed. His body was covered by a blanket up to his abdomen, hiding the still broken legs. It had been more important to treat his injuries and to repair his skull.

Suddenly the serious face of his superior was enlighten by a smutty grin as he opened the door a little bit more for another visitor.

A small figure rushed inside.

“Briareos!”

Relieve spread through his body as the one person he lived for reached his bed, reached for his face, touched him, held him.

He could feel her heat, 36, 8° C to be exact. Could feel her every motion. She let go of him and sat beside him.

He yearned for her touch and as if she knew, she lifted his heavy arm and placed his huge hand at her cheek.

“Me, too.” She whispered softly. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”

The MCT happened a week ago. They needed two and a half days to clean the important data out of his brain. Since that day they were repairing him.

Today was the first day Deunan was allowed to leave hospital.

She looked better than he had hoped for, especially because he knew the shape of his own body.

She had bandages around her forehead, chest and arms; he knew she had some broken ribs, countless bruises, a concussion, but nothing vital, nothing severe.

Commander Lance cleared his throat. Both agents were well known for showing their affection towards each other openly, but it was still uncomfortable for most of their comrades.

Deunan let his hand slid town on her lap, entangling her own hand with it.

Private time was over, back to business.

The Commander told them about the mission, about its outcome, its success. They were still waiting for Briareos report, but that had time he said, Deunan had done hers already, so they kind of knew all the important things.

Deunan was on sick leave for the next six weeks, an unusual long period, but he knew why.

He wouldn’t be able to leave hospital within the next four weeks and his Commander wanted to give them some free time together.

Lance heard about it. The doctor had probably told him. The Commander was worried about him. When they had found him, he had had an emotional breakdown. Not wanting to communicate with their technology, not even reacting.

Usual that wasn’t something odd to happen to a person, caught in between rubbles with a lifeless person to protect.

But it usually didn’t happen to him. He couldn’t have a breakdown, he wasn’t allowed to, because it could lead to rejection, rejection of his artificial body.

They wanted to assure he would reach a more stable mental state and they all knew the only person able to help him, was his point man.

He simply nodded, while Deunan explained what he would have if he could. Luckily it seemed she had not been told.

After a while the Commander left and Deunan slipped into his bed, embracing him with all her warmth.

“I was really worried.” She said, her strong voice close to breaking.

“I wanted to come sooner, but I couldn’t. Sorry.”  
He shook his head and placed it upon hers.

He needed no words for her to understand, they had spent so many hours in silence together, they never needed words, she always knew what he wanted to say.

She was alive, she was save, that was all that mattered.

“I was so afraid I could lose you.”

Her voice filled the air like the song of an angel.

He never felt as relaxed as in her arms. The last days had taken their toll on him.

She continued whispering little things, talking about the mission, thinking about somewhere they could go when he was better, sending him wishes from Hitomi and other people.

He voiced filled the air, comforting him, healing him and slowly he fell asleep.

 

“What’s this?”

“A letter?”  
“Yeah, I know it’ a letter, but why’s it at my desk?”

“Because your name’s written on it, Sir?”

“Is that a question or an answer?”  
“An answer?”

“Briareos. Stop molesting little boys.”

He looked up. Major Smith came inside, carrying a couple of folders.

“Is that a letter from Jackson?”  
“Yes.”

“Oh great, that means he’s still alive.”  
“Corporal Lemere, you may go now.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The young man left.

The older man laughed and fetched the letter from the desk.

“I’ll always feel sorry for the newbies when you’re moody.”

“I’m not moody, Aaron. Have you heard anything from Knute?”  
“No, not yet. I’m sure he will call us if he’s back on ground. And yes you are moody. I bet you’re just relieved to hear something from Nathaniel.”

“Stop talking nonsense, you’re supposed to be smarter than that, you’re not Jackson.” He replied, without actually denying it. “And who actually sends letters nowadays. He could have sent me an email, if he wanted to contact me. Or he could have called by the way. Even Europe got something like face-chat.”

He would never admit how glad he was about that letter. It meant Nathaniel was still alive, even though the European war broke out two months ago, some parts of it wanted to join with Russia, some of it not. And Nathanial in the middle of it, an American ESWAT Seargant, even if resigned.

Six months ago he had become a father of a little boy, which had been the last time they had heard from him.

“So what’s it saying?” He asked, trying to sound uninterested, but probably failing, while opening one of the files Aaron had just brought in.

“Major, answer.” He grumbled after nothing happened.

Slowly his subordinate turned around, mouth wide open. He held the letter in his hand and threw the envelope back on the desk. Countless bank notes slid out.

“What the…?” He whispered.

“My dear Briareos.” Smith read out lout. “At first Maria and I would like to thank you for the teddy bear. William loves it, he cannot sleep without it.”

“I bet you’re worried, because I haven’t written or called in such a long time. We moved down to Bavaria this summer, to Maria’s parents. But I’m not sure how long we’ll be save here. Maybe we’ll come back to California. Four months ago I finally received my first paycheck from my rent. Thank you Major, without you and Major General Knute I would not have survived that long.”

“But now I got my own money, working hard to take care of my family, I want to pay my debts. I know you stopped saving money when I left because Aaron told you to save it instead of giving it me to gamble with. He was right about that, by the way (And I bet he’s reading this right now and grinning like a stupid fool). I know you’re donating a lot and spent the rest on presents for William and Carl’s little girl.”

“But you know, Sir, you’re about to turn fourteen, even by American standards you will be a man soon. You need to start to think what you want to do with your money. One day there will be peace, no more wars, imagine what you could do with all that money that day. You’d be free to do whatever you wanted.”

“I wanted to thank you. I know you think I’m stupid – and you told me countless times – but even though I never was as smart as Aaron or Knute, you never abandoned me. You taught me a lot and I will never forget all the things you’ve done for me. I know you now for seven years, half of your life-time, and those seven years have been the best of my life. For most men it must be strange to see a grown man listen to orders of a youngster but in all honesty I’m very grateful that I was able to work at your service.

Your friend

Nathaniel

P.S. Spent the money wisely, don’t fall for any gambling.”

Both officers stared at the letter.

He was the first one to regain control over his emotions again.

“He actually wrote that? I wasn’t even sure he was capable of writing.”  
Smith laughed, before taking out the money and counting it.

He whistled. “Wow, that’s a lot of cash. What are you planning to do with it?”

“Sending it back, of course. I gave Jackson my money as a present, not to put him in debt.”  
“Well, the way I see it, this money is his birthday present for you. It would be rude to return it.”

They shared a glance.

“What an idiot.” He snorted. “I really hope he survives.”


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 

“What about this one?”

“No.”

“And this one over there? Finest leather from American cattle.”

“No.”

“Oh… So what…”

“I can look for myself; I don’t need your help.”

“Oh, okay. You’re already a young man and not a boy anymore, I understand.”

He looked up, regarding the man with the long red beard.

“Indeed.”

The sales man gave him some free space and excused himself.

“Uuh, what an icy atmosphere. You should be happy. It’s your birthday! We even took a day off.”

“So why are you acting like it’s your birthday, Carl?”

“Because you’re not even smiling.”

The older man grabbed his shoulders in a friendly matter.

“So what kind of are we looking for?”  
He pulled out an old picture. “Davina.” He said.

“Aha. I see.”  
The blonde took a glance at the picture and skimmed through the store.

“You want the same colors?” Knute asked.

“I don’t care about colors, but it’s better if it’s darker. Main color black or dark grey would be cool.”  
“Huh.”  
“Don’t huh me.”  
“I’m just surprised. I never heard you having a preference.”  
“So what about it?”  
“Oh nothing. Hey look at this one. It’s the new version of the one from the picture, so it looks a little bit different.”

They stopped in front of a huge, black motorbike. Instead of the red stripe Morales’ Davina had this one had a green one. It looked a little bit more polished, a little bit stronger.

“This is it.” He murmured. This was his piece of freedom.

“I want this one.” He said louder, so the salesman could hear him.

He rushed over. “Oh, are you sure? That’s a Coscom and they are quite the expensive type and maybe not the best choice for the first one.”  
“I want this one.” He repeated.

The seller excused himself for a second.

“This is a joke. Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I’m broke or cannot drive something like this. I am one of the first ESWAT-members to work with landmates and I’m good at it.”

The Major General at his side shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, this is something different. This isn’t war, my friend. With this thing you’ll be part of the civilian society. Your rank doesn’t change that, your combat experience doesn’t change that. Even if all the other agents call you Sir, outside of our system you’re a boy.”

“I will never get used to this.”  
“Oh well, you’re growing rather nicely, looking more like a man than I did at your age. In a few years you won’t have this problem anymore. Try to hang on until then.”

Several minutes later he left the store while an employee brought his new motorbike outside.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Briareos, but this is the first time you spend your money for yourself, isn’t it? Why a motorbike?”

“It’s not a simple bike, Carl; it’s a piece of freedom.”

“Oh, I see.”  
The blonde grinned.

“So what do you think about a little race back to the base. Me and my old jeep against you and your Davina?”

“You don’t stand a chance!”

He turned out to be right.

He was the first one, but when Carl arrived his face was drowned in horror.

He stumbled out of his car, unable to walk straight, a phone in his hand.

“Hey.”

He let go of his new Coscom and ran towards his friend.

“Major General. What’s wrong?”  
Carl looked at him, hundreds of emotion running through his eyes.

“Briareos. I need you to do me a favor.”

He nodded.

“Get Deunan!”

 

He woke up.

Deunan wasn’t there, but he was sure that she was close by.

She spent most of her time with him, sleeping by his side or at the chair next to his bed. Leaving him alone only if necessary.

They had fixed his brain completely by now, enabling him to talk and to move like always. His legs were still damaged, but healing. The doctors were more than satisfied with his progress.

“Oh hey, you’re up.”

His point man entered the room, a tray filled with food in her hand.

“The meds sure knock you out, when they kick in.” She laughed, while closing the door behind her and snuggling at the huge bed beside him, placing the tray on both their legs.

He looked at her. She was simply beautiful and he was so glad he hadn’t lost her.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, sticking a grape into her mouth. “You’re okay? You look like you’re about to throw up.”

“Not like I could.” He murmured and she laughed again, curling against his strong arm.

Only two more weeks until he could leave the hospital, although his legs were still no good.

“I’m sorry Deunan, I’m not sure I’ll be able to go on a trip with you, when I’m dismissed.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t worry about that. I have four weeks left and I plan to spend as much of it with you as possible. I don’t care, where we are, at home or at some other place, just as long as you’re with me.”

He put his arm around her, pulling her close, feeling her warmth.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

“And you know” She started. “Yoshitsune told me about a new TV show you might like. He recorded the episodes for us. We could spend a whole day only watching it and eating pizza.”

He laughed. “What man could say no to this?”

Time flew by as they talked about more or less important things, eating and laughing together.

It was good to be here with her.

“Our last real break has to be ages ago.” He stated at some point. “You know, without any of us being injured or without being called back from our trips. It would be nice to not be bothered for once.”  
She nodded.

“Oh while we’re talking about that.” She fed him sliced cheese. “I have a meeting at Gaia City tomorrow so I’ll be late.”  
“About what? With whom?”

“Oh nothing important, Hitomi asked me to join her because she didn’t want to go alone and she said it’d be bad for our relationship if I spent all time in bed with you.”

He pulled her even closer, although it hurt a little.

“Well, I disagree on that.”

 

She was crying, sitting on the floor, in her little white dress with red flowers and crying.

Well, he expected that was normal for people of this country, or children of this country. He stood in the door and looked down at her.

When Carl had asked him to get his daughter, he didn’t even hesitate for a second.

But now he stood in front of a little girl, who cried like she had just lost her mother. Well, she did.

Her mother had been killed; a civilian had been killed, normal for him, unbelievable for someone like her.

He hoped Carl wasn’t stupid enough to seek for revenge or if he did, that he waited for him to return so he could back him up.

He walked towards the crying girl. The last time he met her, she had been an infant, scaring the hell out of him because her smile had moved him.

And now he stood there, hating her to cry, not sure though, if he hated it because of the noise or because she was sad.

People around him, police officers of this departure avoided her, but looked strangely at him. Maybe they knew who he was. A black youngster in uniform was not often to be seen, but he didn’t care. He had an order.

He kneeled down to face her.

“Hey.” He said after some seconds, trying to sound as soft as he could. He noticed his voice was cracking and deeper than usual, he was becoming a grown-up.

She looked up, green eyes reddened by tears.

“Do you remember me? I’m Briareos, you father’s my friend.”  
“Where’s my mommy?” Her soft voice asked. “I want my mommy.”

He nodded.

“I know. I know you want your mother.”

She looked at him. Her clear view meeting his.

“She isn’t coming, is she?” She told the truth.

He nodded slightly.

“No, she will never come back again.”  
Tears streamed down her face.

“I want my mommy!”

She cried, even louder than before, hiding her face in her tiny hands, shivering, her two short ponytails rocking up and down.

He had seen people cry like that, children, women, men, of all ages, of all kinds, he didn’t like it but it wasn’t breaking his heart, she was just like all of them, weak, soft, breakable.

So he watched her cry, not sure how to calm her down. In this state it would be difficult to take her to the base.  
But then she stopped suddenly, biting her lips, looking down.

“I cannot have my mommy.” She whispered in horror, eyes wide, last tears dropping down. He was surprised by her intelligence, for an American she was smart.

“Mommy will never come.” She whispered. “Mommy’s gone.”  
And then she looked at him.

“Mommy’s dead.”  
He nodded again.

“Yes, she is.”

She shivered. For a second she looked like she would cry again.

She seemed to think for a moment, looking at nothing, thinking, her mouth slightly open and then she met his eyes again, again this almost calm look in her face.

“Will I die, too?”  
It was a well-thought question, he would have asked the same in her spot, but he knew that the people of this country didn’t think that way. Didn’t want to have a child think that way.

He shook his head.

“No, not now.”

“And what about daddy?”  
“Well, if you want, we can go to him so you can make sure he doesn’t die.”

After a second she nodded.

“Daddy has to stay.”  
He offered her his hand.

“So you wanna come with me?”

She took it and stood up, straightening her dress, like a well-educated child.

As they passed the door and walked outside, she wiped her tears away.

“I really don’t want to die.” She whispered. Her voice too serious for a child her age.

He looked down at her. At her age he had already killed more than fifty people. He didn’t want to die as well.

“I make sure you won’t.” He said and lifted her up, seating her at his new motorbike.

“I will make sure you’ll live, little Deunan.”

She looked at him, but suddenly her face was mad.

“I’m not little.” She said in a matter of fact. “I’m not little anymore.”

He nodded.

“No, you’re not.” And put his helmet onto her little head.

When he sat down behind her, she looked up at him.

“Hold on tight, young lady. Make sure you don’t let go. If you want to live, you can never let go, you have to be strong, okay?”  
She nodded and gripped his uniform like she wanted to tear it apart, a serious look in her face.

No she wasn’t like the other American, she was different.

“Okay, Deunan, are you ready?”

“Always!” She yelled in a battle cry, startling him with her unusual answer. And off they drove.

 

He looked at the people in his hospital room.

His three doctors, two scientists from Gaia, Chief of Staff Nike, Commander Lance, and Yoshitsune.

They were all standing, while he remained seated, he couldn’t stand for the moment.

It was obvious that Yoshitsune felt uncomfortable, he had no idea, why he was ordered by Nike to come here, being a simple engineer.

“Well, shall we wait for Deunan?” Lance asked. “It’s not like her to be so late.”

“She won’t come.” Yoshitsune said, but blushed when all eyes were placed upon him. “She’s with Hitomi at a meeting, shall I call her?” His voice was slightly higher than usually.  
“No.” All looked at Briareos. “I asked Hitomi to take Deunan along. I don’t want her to be involved for the moment.”

Nike nodded.

“Athena and I appreciate this decision, the less know, the better.”

“Know what?” The engineer asked, a little bit worried in what he got involved.

“The data stolen from Gaia was not about any weapon or about any normal bioroid.” Nike stated.

“Normal bioroid?” Yoshitsune repeated, slightly offended.

“The scientist, who stole the information, was Prof. Dr. Wilder. He was the first and up until now only person able to convert a human successfully into a Hecatonchires.” Nike continued unbothered.

“He’s the one, who saved me.” Briareos explained in a simpler way.

“So what’s this about?” The engineer asked.

“At first we thought the trespassers’ plan was to steal information to sell it to our enemies.” Commander Lance explained. “But Wilder was the one who lead the experiment, of course he had all data, so the real reason he stole that information was, to use it as a bait, he wanted to capture Briareos.”  
“So you knew.” The cyborg said.

“Of course I knew what this was all about. I’m the Commander, it’s my job to know.”  
“Why would he do that? Did he want to kill you?” Yoshitsune asked, obviously being the only one not knowing what was going on.

“That’s what we thought.” Lance explained. “But according to what Deunan said, Wilder wasn’t even expecting Briareos and he said he could never kill him.”  
“Okay, enough of this small talk.” Briareos dark voice was suddenly on, filling the room with tension.

“Nike, you knew about his newest research, didn’t you?”

She nodded. “Of course, I am the Chief of Staff and Supervisor of ESWAT.”  
“So you knew and didn’t tell me?” He said almost threatening.

She looked cold as always.

“It was not necessary. As you said, it is research, not even an experiment yet. We would have informed you as soon as you needed to know. Of course things are different now, because you have seen that secret information.”  
“The secret information you are talking about is about me.” The cyborg grumbled. “I’m the only Hecatonchires there is. This is about me and you wanted to keep it a secret?” He was truly mad.

“Calm down, Briareos.”  
“I am not calming down, Commander. Did you know as well?”  
Lance shook his head. “I knew the data was about your body replacement and who Wilder was, that was all I needed to know and it should be the same for you.”  
“It should not!”

The metallic man yelled, hardly composed.

“Don’t you get it? This is my second chance, this is all about me and you’re not even thinking about telling me!”

“Briareos.” Nike said in a cool voice. “The past is past now. We cannot change what happened. Mistakes were made as well as right decisions. And please don’t forget that this body you have right now is already your second chance.”  
The chair next to the cyborg’s bed was thrown across the room, shattered against the wall.

“You just want to keep me as an ultimate human, the ultimate weapon to keep your Olympus save. That’s why you haven’t told me. For you this body is a second chance, but for me it’s nothing but a cage made of metal, made of steal. You only think of it as something superior because you’re not the one inside it!”

“You have to calm down, Briareos, you’re still injured.” The doctor advised.

For a moment they were all quiet, the tension unbearable.

“Is it possible?” The Hecatonchires asked suddenly in a low voice, facing the scientists next to Nike.

“Well, like already said it’s only research yet, without any test phase or…”

“Is it possible?” He repeated his question threatening.

The scientists shared a glance, after a second the older one shrugged his shoulders.

“I think it’s the same case like with the Hecatonchires series, if it weren’t for you it would still be a failure, because nobody but you has survived it so far. We will not know if the results of the research are possible until we try it. But the only test object we have for the moment is you.”

“Okay, could someone please tell me, what’s going on here?”

Yoshitsune looked around, caught between confusion and anger.

They all starred at him.

Then it was Nike again, who talked.

“So you want to do this, Briareos? Even if it costs your life? Even if you die?”

She said, ignoring the engineer for another time.

The cyborg nodded seriously.

“I already died sixteen years ago, I’m ready to be alive again.”  
She nodded sharply.

“Very well, I will inform Athena about it and collect the best people we have for your team. I assume Mr. Miyamoto is an engineer chosen by you.”

“Yes, he’s the only one I trust.”

“He’s not in Hecatonchires.” One of the scientists protested. “He repairs landmates. You cannot ask a nurse to do the work of a doctor.”

“He saved my life multiple times, I trust him.”

Nike nodded. “I shall take this into consideration.” She ended the debate.

“I need about one week to make the preparations, but as you are still recovering I think this is not a problem. So we will start this special mission at next Monday.”

She was already writing things down, turning to the different people.

“Mr. Miyamoto, you will be released from your ordinary work starting next week to join Briareos’ team. You will be remunerated for your work of course. I will send you further information within the next couple of days.”  
He nodded, still not sure what this was all about.

“Commander Lance. I want you to temporary resign Briareos from his service.”  
“No.”

She looked up, surprised. “Excuse me?”

The Commander folded his arms. “I agree with this experiment, even though I really don’t like it. I might lose my best man.”

He looked at Briareos. “It will take weeks until they’re ready for the first test, maybe months. Can you picture to stay in service up until then? I would hate your last mission to be this one.”

The cyborg nodded. “I agree, Commander. As soon as I recover I would like to return to work, so I can be of use for as long as possible.”  
Nike sighed. “For all I care.” She seemed annoyed, turning to the doctors. “I would like you to repair Briareos within the next week, make sure he’s in the best possible state. I would prefer to avoid this experiment ending as a failure.”

She sighed for another time. “I hope all of you are aware that this will be a secret mission. If it succeeds it will bring great honor upon all of you but if it fails we all will pay. For this reason none of you shall give any details to anybody, especially you, Mr. Miyamoto. I have no time to train your mind but I hope you are already able to control your tongue well enough.”

The engineer nodded sharply, a little bit scared by such cold eyes.

“The same goes for you, Commander Lance. Your position will not give you any advantages in this mission. Each word about this mission becoming public will be guided and decided by me.”  
“Are you trying to muzzle me, Nike?”

“In this matter, yes I do. I heard recently about a similar research from Poseidon’s scientists. I would like to prevent any spies. Briareos, it is upon your decision if Deunan will be part of it or not.”

“The decision is already made, Nike.”

She nodded and then looked at the scientist. “You may accompany me now. We have a lot of work to do.”

She nodded as a farewell and went her way.

“Nike.” Briareos called her back. “Commander.” Both of them looked at him.

“I have another favor to ask and you won’t like it.”

Commander and Chief shared a glance.

“I really don’t like where this is going.” Lance sighed and closed the door for another time.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 

“Have you heard anything from Carl?”

He didn’t look up. He was busy. Days had been tough lately.

“He’s in Scandinavia.” He said cold, not even pausing, his hand writing continuously. There was so much to do. “He said he’ll be back by the end of summer.”

“What’s he doing there?” Aaron sounded annoyed. He looked distressed often these days.

He didn’t answer.

“You know, what he’s doing, don’t you, Briareos?”  
Now he looked up.

“Let’s work, Aaron. If you’re too emotional I can handle the training today, but I have no time for your emotional breakdown right now.”  
“I can do the training.” Aaron hissed. But then he sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just…”

“I know. It’s not the best time for the Major General to be gone and the new Captain is growing impatient with him – Johnson’s really a pain in the ass, I don’t know why the Commander chose him. But don’t worry; Carl knows what he’s doing. All we can do for the moment is to make sure the ESWAT runs smoothly while he’s gone. That’s our job, Major.”

“You’re right, General.” Aaron said, a small smile on his lips.

“By the way, do you have any whishes for your birthday?”

“No, it’s nothing special.”

“What are you talking about? Sweet sixteen. If Carl would be here, he would tell you how important it is.”  
“If Carl would be here, he would tell me that I’m already late for the meeting.”  
He stood up, grabbed his pile of files and head for the door.

“Briareos.”

“Aaron.”  
“You should take a break. You’ve been working non-stop the last months. It’s not good for your health. I’m worried, you should relax sometimes.”

He looked at his closest Major, a man he knew for half his life. He wasn’t the one in need for vacation.

“Aaron, I cannot relax with an upcoming war.”  
“But the war has been upcoming for the last two decades and it’s still not here. In your fear of war you don’t even see the peace we’re living in right now.”  
“Major Smith.” He stated cool. “You may take your day off now.”

“What?!”  
“You’re too emotional right now, you mistake the situation we’re in as peace, you have failed to notice that we’re in the eye of a hurricane. Asia is a battlefield, Europe splintered into pieces, Russia is trying to make its way to Africa. South America is victim of several civil wars. This is not peace, my friend.  The US is just not involved. But that might change any second.”

He sighed.  
“I have to go now. Go home, go to your man. Take a walk, calm down. Don’t worry about me, Aaron. I grew up like this, I can handle it.”  
He turned around and left.

Days had been bad lately.

The USA had signed several treaties to stay out of war, trying to keep the battlefield of shore; their military force wasn’t strong enough without their allies. But Europe wasn’t Europe anymore, old countries had risen again. All too small to actually have a strong voice. They would be crushed by the next dispute.

South America was in war with itself.

He hated war, he hated fighting. It was useless. It was a waste of time.

But it was his life. Without war, he’d be jobless, homeless, bitter irony.

“General.” He was greeted by Commander Watson, who looked older than usual.

“Commander.”

“You’re late.”

He nodded. “I know. My Major’s having a hard time and we’re low on staff.”

“Stop making excuses. I hope you’re aware that you get no special treatment, just because you’re Major General Knute’s favorite. The ESWAT is part of the department like any other division. You’re only an ordinary agent.” Captain Johnson told him harshly. He was new in this position after Captain Yang had retired. He wasn’t actually part of the ESWAT and never missed to tell him. “Especially because the honorable Major General Knute is taking his time off while we need him.”

“Being a fifteen-year-old General is anything else than ordinary, Captain.” He answered without even faltering. Several other Generals gasped for air. O’Brian almost fell from his chair.

“You’re quite cocky General.”

“Don’t mistake confidence for arrogance, Captain.”

“Tell me your name, General?”  
“You may call me General.”

“I asked for your name, answer the question.”

“My name’s Briareos, but as I like to keep private from business, only my friends call me by my name. I don’t see you as a friend, so you may call me General. General Man if it makes you feel better.”  
The new Captain’s head turned red in anger, while the Commander hid his grin behind his papers.

“My ass! Stop mocking around! Commander, what’s his name?”

The Commander tried his best to stay composed.

“My dear Captain Johnson, I fear the General is right. Being an immigrant without actual papers he’s no American citizen and has therefore no need for a family name. Most members of the ESWAT unit simply call him by his rank, but it’s a running gag at our departure to call him General Man, for he’s still underage.”

“How comes he doesn’t know?” Crane whispered. “How can you work for the state as a Captain without even knowing something like that? It’s even been in the civilian news.”

“What’s this all about? A non-native being part of the ESWAT, as a General? What’s this? A joke?” The new Captain demanded to know, but Briareos grinned.

“It’s not a joke, Captain Johnson. But don’t worry. I respect the system of ranks, so I listen to your orders.”  
“Well, that’s good to hear, I assume. But we’re not done yet.”

The quarrel seemed settled. But the underlying tension didn’t leave the meeting.

It was exhausting.

Hours later he was back in his office, as the Commander walked in.

“General.”

“Commander, how can I assist you?”  
“Why don’t you try not to piss of my Captain once in a while.”  
“I cannot help it if he’s an idiot.”

“He isn’t wrong, General. You might be in an unusual position, but don’t forget, that you’re still on the wanted list by Russia. You’re a foreigner in a high position of our most dangerous military force. You might not be an easy target in combat, but if it comes to politics it would be a kid’s game to take you down.”

“Is that a threat, Sir?”  
“No, this is a warning. I’m on your side. You’re a reliable agent. But you lack wisdom, you lack experience. I hope it’s not you, who mistakes arrogance for confidence.”

The Commander turned around.

“You’re still young, General. Try not to say everything you think out lout that will keep you alive. I’m sure Knute would agree with me. Sometimes it’s wiser to fake a smile than to start a fight. We’re not in high school, this is war. Johnson is aware of it; the question is, if you are.”  
He left.

 

“So… that’s what’s this all about…” Yoshitsune murmured, folding his arms and looking down at Briareos in deep concentration, trying to grasp the true meaning behind all the words the cyborg had just told him.

“Hmm.” The seated man nodded in agreement. “That’s what this is all about.”

“Wow!” The engineer exhaled in unbelief, ruffling through his hair, fighting for his composition.

“Wow.” The older man agreed.

They stayed silent for some time, each of them trying to order their own feelings.

The people who had been in this room before had left a couple of minutes ago, leaving Briareos in the position to explain to his friend what he had found out.

“Unbelievable they weren’t going to tell you.” The engineer mumbled.

“Yeah, I know. I mean, it’s not like I can’t understand them. It’s nothing save yet, it might kill me and whatsoever.”

“So you’re actually doing this?”  
They shared a glance.

“Of course! Why you’re even asking? Why shouldn’t I do this?”

Yoshitsune shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t know man! Maybe because it could get you killed! Maybe you’ll not get killed but unable to move, or blind or you’ll have some other handicap. Maybe you’ll hate it! Maybe you’ll be one of those who try to kill themselves because you think you were inbreeded by an alien. Maybe you….”  
“Yoshitsune.” The older one said soft. “Calm down. This is no science fiction. Something like aliens doesn’t exist.”

“Says the cyborg.” The engineer murmured sarcastically.

“But I’m serious here, Briareos, maybe not about the part here with the aliens, but the other stuff … As a friend, tell me, why should you do that? It’s dangerous. You could die and you want me to help you with it. Why should I help you to die?”  
“Yoshitsune.” The cyborg was calm. “Don’t you see the potential this experiment has. All the lives that could be saved, all the wounded veterans. I can help them and I’m the only one, who can. That’s why the research was about me, me and this body. I’m already part of the scientific history but this could change the medical world.”

The younger man raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, if not for the others, do it for me.”

“For you. You’ll die! This isn’t a test phase, Briareos. This isn’t some game with a reset button. If it fails, you’ll be gone. You’re putting your life on the plate because of some theoretical research of some crazy scientist, who tried to kidnap you!”  
“I already trusted him sixteen years ago and it was the right decision.”  
“But you had no other choice back then! You were already doomed and they saved you. You had nothing to lose. This is different now. You have a life, you have a woman, and you are happy, right now. Weren’t you looking for this all your life? Peace and freedom. Why give it up now for some stupid research?”

He didn’t answer.

Yoshitsune sat down at the edge of the bed, for the chair was still broken.

“Briareos, why would you want to do this? You have everything, you’re happy.”

The cyborg didn’t answer.

The younger man shook his head.

“You’re not happy?”

“No.” The Hecatonchires admitted. “I cannot go on like this.”

“Why? I thought… I thought…”  
“That I like being a cyborg?” He laughed roughly. “Well, yeah it’s not like I’m not grateful for what they did that time. I’m really grateful they saved me. And I know that… that this body has a lot of advantages, in combat, in war. I’m simply unbeatable in things like that.”  
They were silent.

“So why?” Yoshitsune asked quiet.

Briareos didn’t answer right away, but looked at his steel-hands.

“After the explosion, after we were caught by the rubble, buried beneath, I woke up.”  
He paused. He wasn’t the emotional type of person, but he was stricken by horror just remembering those moments. He shouldn’t tell this person, he shouldn’t tell anybody, not even Deunan… _Deunan_ … She was the only reason he was hesitating.

“I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t hear or move, all I could do was look at Deunan, not even knowing if she was alive or not. I spent hours like this, imagine what life would be if she were dead, imagine how she could wake up any second and smile at me. I wanted to touch her, feel her, sense that she was alive. I prayed every second for her. Prayed that she was alive, that was all that mattered, but I could never silence the fear that she could be dead already. I have seen a lot in my life, experienced a lot, Yoshitsune, but this, this was a torture I cannot bear any longer.  I don’t know what I would do, if she were gone, but I know that I never ever want to feel this way again. I never want to hold her in my arms without feeling her again.”  
Yoshitsune nodded. They were silent, only the beeping of some instruments disturbing the silence.

“So what about Deunan?” The engineer asked after a while. “What if you fail and die. She’ll be alone. Nobody can protect her like you do. What if you succeed? You’ll never be the same.”

“I know.” He admitted. “That’s actually the only thing worrying me.”

He sighed. “I can only hope she does what she already did once and takes me back, even if I’ll be weaker than before.”

The engineer sighed as well, burying his head in his hands.  
“Well, it looks like you already made your decision.”  
“You should be happy; I’ll finally let you do the inspection you yearned for.” The cyborg murmured in a dark laughter.

“Well, when I think about Deunan hearing all this, I’m actually more worried about my life than your inspection.”  
“Don’t worry. She won’t go after you.”

“Why not? You practically dragged me into this. She won’t be happy that I’m part of the team, who tries to kill you.”

“You really know how to be supportive, you know? Like I said, don’t worry, she won’t bother you.”  
The engineer gasped for air.

“You’re not planning to tell her?” He asked shocked.

“No, _we_ won’t tell her. It’s better for her, if she doesn’t know.”

“Are you kidding?!”

“No, I’m dead serious. She thinks she’s at fault for my current condition. I don’t want her to worry. I want her to keep concentrating on becoming better in surviving.”

“So what are you expecting me to do, if you die?! _Hey, Deunan, I know you thought Briareos was at the Dentist, well truth be told he was on a secret mission and got killed by it, but hey he did it for the both of you._ You can’t be serious? You plan to leave her in the dark?”  
“Exactly.”

“Why?”  
“Because I do what’s always best for her.”  


“Wait! Wait for me!”  
“Come on! We’re already late.”

“You forgot the papers, Briareos.”  
“We don’t need papers.”

They rushed down a dark hallway.

“Why do we have to do this?”  
“Because I pissed off the Captain, I told you already, and now would you please stop whining. You’ve been going on about this for the whole flight.”

 “But we should be home! Carl’s coming back to work tomorrow. I haven’t seen him for almost a year.”

“And he’ll be there, when we return. So hurry up, will ya!”

“Easy talking for you. You talked with him every other day. What was he doing in Scandinavia? Why did he stay longer? You know, don’t you?”

“Just shut it! You’re not supposed to be such an annoyance, Major Smith!”

They turned around another corner.

A tall man with reddish hair in green uniform awaited them.

“Commander Kirsch.” He greeted him.

The older man showed a polite smile.

“The young nameless American General. Thank you for coming.”  
They shook hands, Major Smith behind him saluting.

“So shall we get down to business?” He asked plain. “My Major here wants to return to the States by tomorrow and we have a lot to talk about.”  
The Commander placed a surprised look at the Major, who didn’t even flinch.

“Everybody’s quite busy nowadays. No time left for anything.” The soldier said with a heavy German accent.   
“It’s wartime, Commander, there is no time.”

They walked down the corridor in a moderate pace.

They spent the upcoming hours with a large group of high ranked European agents. It was a harsh discussion. Europe was about to break. After the civil war a few years ago it managed to stay a Union, even though the small countries wanted to keep their independence. It was similar to its history about hundred years ago. But the dispute had weakened it and Russia tried to take the chance. Ukraine and Poland had fallen already. The weak Europe had asked for aid and the US did come.

Now it was war at the border.

But he wasn’t here to fight. Even though he would prefer that. Commander Watson needed him alive, he had told him.  He couldn’t lose important ESWAT-members for another country’s war. No ESWAT-agent was supposed to be fighting in this war. They were supposed to secure their own country, to show any enemy in this world that this war wouldn’t weaken them.

But they needed someone to come here for the weekly briefing. And because he pissed of Captain Johnson and no one else wanted to go, he did. His poor Major always at his side.

It was past midnight, when they left the conference room.

It had been a draining meeting. The Europeans were scared, Russia was strong, he knew by his own experience. The only advantage Europe had was their landmate production, but not many men were capable of controlling those. Even in his special force there were only few, not even twenty. Those machines were difficult to manage and dangerous to handle. One wrong move could be enough to break the pilot’s leg, or even dissever it.

“Boy, that was tough.” Aaron sighed.

He nodded in agreement. Those different languages and accents were killing his nerves, let aside the actual topic.

“General.” Commander Kirsch, a tall man, strong and grim, but actually friendly in mind approached him.

“I know you’re already on your way back. But I have an urgent matter.”

He shared a glance with his subordinate.

“Major, why don’t you check when our departure will be?”

He followed the European agent.

“I heard a lot about you General. A lot.”

“Well, rumors always make their rounds.”

“Oh no. Don’t worry. Nothing bad, actually, or most of it isn’t.”  
He laughed loudly.

“My Schwiegersohn praises you in the best ways possible.”  
“You’re Schwieger…?”

“Oh here we are.”  
The Commander opened the door to a small room. Inside someone was already waiting for them.

“Oh my, how you’ve grown. You’re as tall as me now. And look at those muscles! Gosh I would be scared of you in the dark.”  
He wasn’t saying a word.

“You’re a real man now. So how did you spend your money? Did you get a motorbike? I remember how we scammed all those brochures when you were just about this.”  
The black-haired man lifted his hand at his chest.

 “And now look at this man here. General! Well, you’ve already been a General when I was still working for you and….”  
“Commander? Could you please give us a second?”  
“Oh… Sure, I bet you two have a lot to talk about.”

The European operative closed the door on his way out.

“What’s wrong, Briareos? Don’t look so cold, you haven’t forgo… ouch!”  
The former ESWAT-agent clashed against the wall in his back.

“Fuck! Was what that for!”  
“You’re an idiot.” He stated cool, looking like he didn’t even move after he had punched the other one quiet harshly.

The older man got back on his feet. Age was already taking its toll on him. Lines, which hadn’t been there before, now marked his face. The black curls were longer, but caught in a ponytail.

“Damn it. I kinda hoped for a warmer greeting. But you haven’t changed, have you? Still the cold little brat you are.”  
“You don’t deserve kindness.”  
The other one looked at him. Obviously not understanding. Oh, he had forgotten how slow the other one was on the uptake.

“Aaron has written you countless letters, tried to call you, sent you mails. He even came to Europe this summer and searched for you.”  
The other one opened his mouth but he continued.

“We have tried to contact you for the past two years, after Bavaria was ridden from the maps by war. All we found out was that you were at the front, fighting. We tried to find that Maria and that William but we had no last names, no city. We didn’t know anything. We thought you died. You idiot! And now you show up here, son-in-law of Commander Kirsch, who I’ve met countless of times and you act like nothing happens! You’re the cold little brat here, Jackson!”

He folded his arms, keeping his emotions down.

This damn, stupid, idiot of a half brain.

“You thought I died?” His former Sergeant asked.

“And you mourned over me? You?”  
He looked away.

“We’re friends, aren’t we? You’re a brainless idiot; I spent half my life worrying about you. I knew if one of us were too stupid to take care of himself it would be you.”

“You missed me.”  
“I’ve always worried you would get your girl in trouble. I wasn’t even sure what you did to pay your bills. I mean, is there any job you don’t suck at?”  
“General!”  
Suddenly he was hugged by the older man, who was almost sobbing like a little boy.

It startled him, but he could feel it, little pins piercing the side of his eyes.

“Dammit, idiot! I thought you got killed.” He whispered and embraced one of his oldest friends. “I’m responsible for you. Don’t ever let me down again.”

For a moment of eternity they held each other before he let go of the other man.

Reclaiming his cool position.

“You look good, Jackson. Better than expected at least.” His voice was still shaking, he wasn’t used to this kind of emotions.  
The other one laughed.

“Well, war has been tough, but my dear Maria keeps all nightmares away and my boy is going to be a great adult someday.”  
“I bet so.”

They fell silent.

“General.”

He looked at his friend.

“The truth is, Europe is no place for a child to grow up anymore. Richard, Commander Kirsch, asked me to bring my family to safety. And there’s only one place I know.”  
They shared a glance.

“General. Can I come home with you?”

He looked away, fighting a small smile, before regarding the other one again.

“Sure. Come home, Sergeant. Take your girl, take your son. Come home. The States always need men like you and I would like you by my side.”  
Minutes later they walked down the corridor. They had just organized the most important details. Jackson and his family would follow them within the week.

“I was wrong, General. You do have changed. You’re not the annoying little boy anymore.”  
He looked back at the other one.

“Same goes for you. You’re no boy anymore.”  
Jackson’s head jumped up, looking shocked and startled, and then he nodded sad.

“Indeed, I’m a man now. But sometimes I think it was better to be a boy.”

“I know my friend, I know.”

They walked on, silent now. He huffed slightly.

“It will be bad to have you back. Carl isn’t the same he was, Aaron’s damn annoying and now I have another idiot to take care of.”

“You really don’t know how to tell people that you like them, do you? I hoped Aaron would have at least taught you that.”  
“Oh just you wait for Aaron. When he finds out you’re alive I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop him from killing you.”

“This is a joke, right?”  
“Nope. Oh look, there he is.”  
He waved a hand at a man in the far distance.

“Hey Major. Here’s someone I’d like you to meet.”  
“Why are you doing this to me?” The man next to him growled.

“Payback my friend. Payback.”

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 

“There it is! There!”

“Oh gosh! You’re so annoying.”

“But…”  
“Stop it! Remember, you’re the smart one. If I wanted you to be the stupid one, I’d tell you.”  
“I’m just so excited! I feel like twenty-five again. He’ll be back. Carl’s back. It’s all…”  
“Aaron, stop it.”  
The older man looked at him.

“Nothing will be the way it was.”

He could see those clear blue eyes.

“Years have gone by. You’re not Corporals anymore. Jackson has a family now, a son to take care of. You and your husband just entered the adoption procedure. Carl’s a widower, taking care of his daughter. Don’t act like nothing has happened. Aren’t you supposed to wise with age?”

The man at his side bit his lips.

“So what about you?”

“What’s with me?”  
“You told me about all the changes we guys experienced, but what about you? It’s not like you’re the same.”

He didn’t answer.

They were at the airport. The plane with Jackson and his family had just arrived.

“You know, what I always wonder?”

He didn’t react.

“How did this all end up like this? Why did you save Carl? Why did you come to America?”

They looked at each other.

“The boy you once were and the man you’re now have nothing in common, maybe except for your combat skills.”

At the end of the boarding lounge the small family they were waiting for showed up.

“I envied him.” He whispered, as Jackson rushed towards them, his little boy in his arms.

“He looked like he was at peace, he said he owned freedom. I wanted to see that country, where people could be like that.”

“Aaron! Briareos!”

They dropped the topic and greeted the newcomers.

William tried to show everybody his great English skills, but kept his distance to Briareos, obviously scared of him and he didn’t know, if it was because of his skin color, or simply because of his being. Both seemed fairly possible.

Aaron drove the car to the new apartment, while Nathaniel didn’t stop babbling. His wife Maria stayed silent for most of the time, but the words she said were well-thought and smart. Quite the contrary to her husband. Aaron on the other hand behaved like a young boy, so happy his best friend was back.

They left the small family at their new home, so they could acclimate a little bit after a long trip. Aaron drove him back to the base.

“If you want you can come to my place. Alex won’t mind.”

“No thanks, I’m good.”  
“Really, I would love…”  
“Aaron. I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

They were silent.

“Briareos?”  
“Hmm?”  
“You know, you’re part of my family, don’t you?”  
“What?”

“I know, we’re not related by blood. But during the last years there haven’t been two days I haven’t seen you. I think I spent more time with you than with Alexander. You’re not alone.”  
He leaned against the window, looking outside.

The conversation was over.

They arrived at the base and he got out.

“Aaron.”   
The older man looked up, smiling, probably hoping for a serious reply to his confession.

“Take your day off tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

“Jackson and Maria just arrived, they might need some help.”

He got out of the car,

“But what about work?”  
“Don’t worry, Carl’s back, so we’ll be okay. You should spend some time with your husband.”  
He slammed the door shut, turned around and left, ignoring his friend’s confused face in the car.

“No matter how big your family, how many friends. In the end you die alone.”

He wasn’t scarred of loneliness, he liked being alone.

He had learned that friends were something good, but it was no necessity in his life. Nathaniel’s assumed death had bothered him, but more because it had taken its toll on Aaron. Gilliam’s death had worried him, but more because Carl had changed.

If affection towards another person was too deep, it was weakening. It made loneliness hurt.

He decided he would never ever let somebody so close to his heart that he would want to avoid loneliness, because in the end he would always be alone.

 

“So, how was the meeting?”

She looked at him.

“Are you serious?”  
“Sure. You like to dress up, you like to be uptown, in a nice restaurant, with nice food, not this horrible hospital stuff, with Hitomi. So did you enjoy it?”

She sighed and sat down at the edge of his bed.

“It was okay, I guess. But it would have been more fun with you.” She smiled.

“I bet.” He grinned sarcastically, for both of them knew that he didn’t like those kinds of get-togethers.

“But are you okay?” She asked a little bit worried.

“You look tired. Are you in pain?”

“Nah, it’s all good. It’s been some tough day.”  
“Really, what happened?”

“Oh nothing. They just try to fix my legs and it seems to be a little bit more complicated than they thought.”  
“Oh… I’m sorry.” She said, looking more like she was about to cry. He knew she was worried about him.

“Don’t be.”

She bit her lip.

“Come here.” He placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“Are you in pain?” She asked again in a whisper, holding him.

“Not as long as you’re here.”  
She laughed softly.

“Be serious.”  
“I am.”  
She laughed louder, punching him lightly.

“Briareos!”

He caught her hand and pulled it to his face.

She smiled, taking his other hand and kissing it as well.

He placed his cheek against her head, taking in her strength, allowing himself to relax.

They lay there like this, falling asleep after some time, snuggled against each other.

In the middle of the night he woke up. First he was confused, it was dark, but his night-vision needed only half a second to start working.

But for that heartbeat he hadn’t been sure if she were alive.   
Stupid!

He could feel her, sense her heat, hear her silent breath. She was safe and sound.

He embraced her stronger, hiding his heavy head in the curve of her neck, hiding from the world, from his own thoughts.

She turned slightly, facing him more, still asleep, placing an arm around his neck and pulling him even closer. Like she wanted him to tell that he could stay like this, that she would protect him from all his fears.

The moment she was there, he felt strong, unbreakable. She made him strong. As long as she was there, nothing could harm him.

He came back from the dead for her, he wanted to be by her side, but the more he needed her by his side.  It wasn’t like he couldn’t be alone anymore. He could if he wanted.

But he didn’t want to be alone.

 

“You’re quiet.”  
“I’m working.”

…

“Are you mad at me?”  
“No. I’m working.”  
…

“You don’t have any questions?”  
“No, I’m working.”  
“Briareos!”  
“Carl.”

He looked up.

His Major General was standing in front of him, hand on his papers, blocking his lines.

“Is there anything I can assist you with, Sir.”  
He said in a mocking way.

“Be honest, Briareos.”

“I’m always honest, Carl. You know it’s difficult for me to play with words.”  
“Are you mad at me?”  
“Is there a reason I should be?”

“You haven’t asked anything about Scandinavia.”  
“You were on a secret mission, an order by the Commander. There’s nothing I could ask.”  
“But I stayed longer.”  
“You needed time. Gilliam died.”

“I could have taken you with me.”

“You couldn’t. It was a secret mission. And I was your cover here.”

“But I took my daughter with me.”  
“She needed you. She’s still your child. I can handle my own.”

Carl didn’t reply. He took a deep breath.

“You’re so accustomed to America I forget sometimes that you are different from us.”

“What do you mean? Of course I’m different.”  
“No, I mean…” The blonde laughed. “I thought you were mad at me, angry, because I’ve left you behind. Jealous because I took my time off without explaining.”

“What do you think I am? A dog? Or even worse, Jackson?”

Carl laughed again. His laughter had changed, it wasn’t light anymore, it wasn’t as happy as before.

Most people didn’t see he had changed. Because he was still the same, polite, friendly Carl, people knew. But he had changed. When he wasn’t thinking at all or thinking too much, he looked grim, thin lips, furrowed forehead. He wore a short mustache now, neatly trimmed, so different than the sluggish down, he had tried to grow almost ten years ago.

“No, no. But…”

“Get back to work, you moron. I want to be done on time.”  
“Huh?”  
“Don’t huh me. Today is Tuesday.”

“Tuesday? So what?”

“Today is Steaks-day at Thompson’s.”  
“The restaurant Thompson’s in downtown?”  
“Jop.”

“Since when are you eating outside? And at such an exclusive place?”  
“Things are changing, Carl. I want to enjoy good food as long as possible.”  
The older one laughed, sounding more like before.

“You’re an odd man, Briareos.”

“Indeed.”  
They worked on.

He felt there was something the other one wanted to say, but didn’t dare to.

“You wanna come with me?”  
“Excuse me?”

“You wanna come and join me for dinner. We can pick up Deunan on our way, if you want to.”  
“Oh…oh sure. I would love to. Deunan has late classes today, but yeah, yeah. I want to. Shall we ask Aaron and Nathaniel as well.”  
“No.”  
“Oh... okay, why not?”

“I invited you.  Don’t want an idiot or an annoying boy to ruin my food.”

“Oh okay, yeah sure. I’d like that, just the two of us.”

They spent the rest of the day working hard. The Commander came in and left, telling them to come in early the next day. No surprise.

They left on time.

It was nice, it kind of reminded him of the first time they were driving somewhere in Carl’s old jeep.

But Carl was talking less; instead he talked, discussing the new recruits, the Captain’s idiocy, and other less important things.

The sun was setting. He liked the view. He had gotten used to it, but it was different to see it out of a car’s window.

“How’s Deunan doing?” He asked after a while. He hadn’t seen her since that day, Gilliam died, almost three years ago. She had to be around the same age he was, when he came to the States, maybe a little bit older.

“Briareos?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Do you know a way the weak can survive war?”  
He regarded the landscape.

“By hiding, hiding and praying they won’t be found.”

“Soon this world will have no place left to hide.”  
“Then the weak won’t survive.”  
“How old were you, when you decided that you were strong enough. Strong enough to not be weak anymore.”  
“Five. That was the time I killed my brother.”

“Huh?”  
“Don’t huh me.”  
“You had a brother?”  
“Yes, he was older. Got shot in the stomach, I sliced his throat so he would die fast. Got shot because he protected me on a mission, out in the desert, miles away from civilization. My last day of being weak.”  
“I’m….”  “Don’t.”

…  
“How long do you think it will take Deunan to become strong?”  
“Why do you ask?”

“I train her. But she’s no good. I mean, I love her. She’s the most precious thing in my world. And now with her mother gone, I cannot even imagine to lose her. I never wanted her to grow up in war, but if I have no choice I want to make sure she survives. I’m really trying to train her good, but she makes me furious. You would hate her. She’s more stupid than Jackson.”  
“Harsh words from the proud father.”  
“She’s slow, weak, soft.”

“She’s eight.”  
“With eight you were Sergeant.”  
“ Be glad, she isn’t.”

They shared a glance.

“You should bring her in training?”  
“What?”

“You made it once possible to take a child in, do it a second time, let it be her. I will make her body strong. I will make her a good fighter. I will make her survive. You know I can train anyone.”  
They drove on.

“Briareos?”

“Hmm.”

“If I could have ever asked for a son. It would have been you.”

He didn’t say anything. For a while they just drove on, embracing the upcoming night.

“She’s strong.”

“Excuse me?”  
“When I met Deunan, she was strong.”

“I don’t…”

“And she was five.”

 

She turned off the water.

It was the first day in days she actually showered at home.

Briareos had sent her home yesterday night for some good rest. Today was his first day back on legs, more or less. She knew he wouldn’t mind if she were with him. He was not afraid to show her his weaknesses, but well this was something different.

She knew he would have difficulties, the first day was always hard on him, but he would try to act cool, it was easier for him to admit pain, if there were less people.

So she stayed home today. Trying to enjoy it.

After drying her skin, she put a towel around her neck and walked butt naked around in the apartment she shared with her man.

It was big, seemed even bigger when she was alone. It wasn’t a bad thing to be alone sometimes. She liked being alone, had spend a lot of time alone, and sometimes it was better to be alone than to be with the wrong company.

But she was worried. She knew she shouldn’t. Everything was okay. It wasn’t the first time, Briareos got hurt, not the first time he was in hospital, she could handle.

She was worried about the things the crazy scientist had said just before the explosion, the way he had looked at Briareos, she would never forget those longing eyes.

She was worried about the way Briareos protected her, even while being unconscious, hurting himself more just to ensure she was safe.

She was worried the way he held her now, it was different than before, more desperate, more needing, like he was afraid of losing her.

She wasn’t sure what was going on. Maybe she did something wrong, maybe it was the way she put him in danger. She wasn’t sure.

She put some comfy closes on, turned the TV on, pulled a can of beer out of the fridge and slammed down on the couch.

She had not been able to train at the station yet, so she had gone for a short run. Yeah, it hurt her ribs, but hey, no pain no gain and she knew she had to train harder than any of her comrades just because she was a woman, her father had told her often about her physical disadvantage.

Now she would just enjoy her time off, enjoy doing nothing…

BOOOORING!

She turned the TV off. Her beer was already empty.

Maybe she should visit Briareos. She never felt bored with him. It always felt like there was never enough time to spend with him.

But there would be countless doctors, scientists, and students, as always, when he got repaired.

It was no fun when there were so many people, she would embarrass him, okay, that was fun as well, but not when he was already having a hard time.

She could go for a drive with her Coscom, but she had already drunken something and Olympus’ police was really strict on that.

After another ten minutes of doing more or less nothing at all she made a decision.

She stood up and left the apartment.

Thirty minutes later she returned, a shopping bag in her hand.

She wasn’t good in it, but she knew her mother had been.

She wasn’t good in it, but she knew Briareos liked it.

She hadn’t tried it in months, because there had been no time, but she knew how he liked to eat homemade food.

She could bring him some self-made food tomorrow. He would love it. It would make him feel better, give him energy, lighten his mood.

She turned the stove on, grasping the few memories she had left of her mother, how she spent the whole evening, after returning from a hard day of work, cooking, simply because she loved it.

Deunan had never liked to cook, it took time and patience, two strengths she didn’t call her own. But for him she would try everything.

The next hours she spent in the seldom used kitchen. It took more effort than she had expected at first, but in the end she was satisfied. It wasn’t great, some spots were a little bit too dark and all in all it seemed a little bit messy, but it tasted good, and that was the only thing that mattered.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 

“Okay, any questions left?”

Nobody dared to raise their voice as the black haired man stared them down.

“Good. To make things clear, no special treatment for no one. You’ve been trained half a year for today, but only the General decides who of you is not a total disappointment, got it?”  
“Yes, Sir!” They said in unison.

“Okay, Corporal Allen, you’re first. There’s the door.”

Briareos was standing at the observation platform, multiple monitors surrounding him showed different angles of the scenery in front of him, a fake village, with broken walls and hidden agents.

Today was scouting day.

Most of his comrades liked this day; they thought it was funny to watch an inexperienced soldier to stay alive for at least ten minutes. Of course they didn’t get killed actually, paint bullets replaced real ones, the hidden agents knew how to use knives and other weapons without hurting the newbie too much.

For most of his comrades it was fun to watch how the new ones acted, they bet on the surviving time, how often one was on target, how many would cry, who would wet their pants – that happened more often than he had expected.

But for him it was just sad to watch. So many of them entered with quite a shiny attitude, like they were unbeatable, but two minutes later they were over. It was sad to see that a country this large had so many weak soldiers. They weren’t actually bad, but just not good enough for what they needed, they weren’t part of the best.

Once every few months they had a scouting day. Out of two-hundred soldiers from different departures they would usually take about ten to fifteen, if they were lucky maybe one or two more. But not all of those would become part of their unit; they would be trained for another six months, partly by him, and be selected. By the end of this time only five of them would remain.

He chose the hidden agents for the artificial battle area. Not every great soldier was suitable for training. Someone like Smith was, able to adapt to the test person’s level, able to understand the difference between real combat and giving somebody else the opportunity the show their potential. Someone like Jackson was not, trying to win at any means, trying to survive at any means, great for real combat, but of course the hidden agents were better than those recruits, would be sad if not. They weren’t of any help, if they needed to prove that.

When Carl was there, he preferred to be down there himself, because even though other ones were great, no one was like him. Not even Carl was down there as good as he was, always a little bit too harsh on the test person, but therefore Carl was the best supervisor, he was only second-best, for he could not meet the blonde’s strategy skills.

Jackson was downstairs with the recruits in the waiting room, he was good in scarring them, without already breaking them, it showed how they would react under pressure.

The first one entered the show ground; they had about ten seconds to get accustomed, before the hidden agents would start moving. Sure that was not really like it would be during a real war, but he used those ten seconds to analyze them. He could usually tell within those seconds, if the candidate would pass the ten minutes or not.

This one would not.

He took a glance at his paper.

_Allen_

Well, Allen was not bad for a soldier, but he was slightly too nervous, he would react fast, shoot before seeing, before getting shot, but he would fall easily for traps.

One soldier after another came in, most of them not surviving the second minute, only a few holding out longer.

The door in his back slid open, but he didn’t turn around.

“Hey Carl.” He greeted the newcomer. “What are you doing here on your free day?”

The man behind him placed his hands on his shoulders, massaging them slightly. He let him do so, even though he didn’t like it.

“Well I know this isn’t your favorite part, so I thought I would come and cheer you up.”

“What about your daughter?”  
“What about her? She’s in school today so…”

“I haven’t found her name on the list. The Commander told me she would be here today, he even had a dispute with the Chief about it and now Deunan isn’t here.”

Carl didn’t answer. For a moment they watched the newest candidate, a promising one, actually.

“He won’t last past 6.” Carl murmured.

“He won’t last past 5:30.” He muttered.

The candidate got shot at 5:22.

“So what about her?” He insisted.

“You’re really persistent today, aren’t you?”

“Carl. What’s your problem? How old is she now? Ten, eleven? She’s old enough; I can make sure she’ll survive.”

“That’s not the problem. Briareos, I trust you. It’s just that…”  
“You trained her on your own for almost five years now, and you think she’s a failure, you’re embarrassed to bring her here.”

The hands on his shoulders grew stiff while he regarded the new object, one of few women.

“Personally I think you’re too involved in it.” He continued cold. “She’s your daughter so even if she would do everything right, you wouldn’t notice.”  
“What? How dare you, I can perfectly well…”  
“You cannot, you couldn’t even with me and you certainly can’t with her. You know how I dislike supervising the scouting, I did it this time because I thought Deunan would be here and I know I can be neutral, but you can’t. It’s disappointing to be up here even though it’s not worth it. Next time you let me down tell me before so I can be downstairs, where I belong.”  
“Are you mad at me?”  
He was silent for a moment.

“No, just disappointed.”

He could almost feel how it hurt the other one, but he was honest, as always.

“Hmm… this one is good, he might even pass. What’s his name? Hades...”

“Briareos.”  
“Carl.”

“Why?” He hesitated. “Why are you disappointed in me?”

The youngster was already at his sixth minute, he was really good.

“Because you’re Major General Carl Knute, elected for the next Captain. Because you’re the only American better than me and now you’re failing your impartiality. I could accept it, if it were to protect your child; I could even accept it, if it were to protect your country. But it’s the contrary. The longer you wait, the less time I have to train her.”

“You think you’d train her better than I can?”  
“No. But I think I can better judge her skills than you can. Actually I’m quite curious about her potential. I want to see what another child can do after working with you for five years. I want to see if she’s smarter than me.”

Carl wanted to answer but he silenced him with one hand and pushed the bottom of the intercom.

“Corporal Hades, the time will be set on another ten minutes.”

The blonde behind him looked up.

“Huh?”

“Don’t huh me.”

“What are you doing? He passed the minutes.”  
“He’s good, but something is odd with him. Concentrate Carl. You must have seen it.”

“Maybe you’re right, my daughter’s distracting me.”

“You’re actually listening to me. I’m surprised.”

“You’re not.”

“No, I’m not.”

 

“So? How is it?”

“It’s good! Even better than the one yesterday.”

She smiled. She blushed. She was lovely to look at.

“So how are you doing?”  
“I’m much better. Tomorrow we’ll do the last check-up and when it’s good I can leave by Sunday.”

Now she grinned.

“That’s great and then we have two whole weeks together, just the two of us and I can cook for you and take care of you. Change your bandages.”  
She came closer.

“Bathe you, scrub your back.” She whispered in a more daring than sweet voice.

He put the basket with her home-made food aside and pulled her closer.

“That sounds just too good to be true. Is this a dream?”

She laughed.

“So I might burst the bubble.”

They turned to the door.

Commander Lance came in. A grim smile on his lips.

“It’s always so easy to find you, Deunan.”

She grinned evil.

“Commander. It’s never a good sign, when you show up.”

He didn’t say anything, keeping his arm around her waist.

“I hate to agree but truth be told, I have to cut down your days off.”

“What? Why? How many?”  
“Well to be honest. I need you back on Monday for another mission at the end of the week.”  
“This one?”  
“Yes, I would actually need both of you, but it seems Briareos sill needs his beauty sleep.”  
“Hey.” He jumped in. “I’m as beautiful as always.”

“The thing is, Briareos won’t be back for another two weeks, Deunan, but we need you in action next Friday. So I will team you up with someone else until your partner is back and you need to train with them before of course, so Monday it is.”

“Bu…”

“I know you hate it. But it’s only for a few days and you’re good in what you’re doing. You’re the best. It will be only temporary.”  
She bit the inside of her cheek, a sign that she was more than mad.

“Fine!” She hissed. “But you have to promise that as soon as Briareos is back we get one whole week off, together.”

He nodded. “I do what I can.”

With those words he left.

“He didn’t actually say yes.” Briareos murmured.

“Oh geez! I was so looking forward to those two weeks.”  
He nodded.

“Me too. Bad luck as always.”  
She snuggled next to him.

“And you’re not even with me. Work isn’t the same without you.” She grumbled. “I wonder what idiot it will be.”  
“Promise me you don’t eat them alive.”  
“Nah, I can’t promise that.” She grinned a little bit now.

“Can you promise me another thing?”

Now she looked more serious than before.

“Try to cooperate.”  
Her eyes grew big.

“You know, Lance is right. You are the best point man there is. But whoever you’re partner is, won’t be as good. Don’t benter them too much, you need them to watch your back while I’m gone.”

“What are you saying?” She laughed. “This will be for less than two weeks. Don’t worry.”

“You’re right.” He murmured and embraced her again.

“It won’t be for long.”

She massaged his shoulder.

“The worst thing about this is that our vacation is canceled for another time.”

“Well, we still have Sunday evening, when I’m coming home.”

She nodded in silent agreement.

“Oh, don’t look like that. It will be nice. We’ll order pizza, watch TV, maybe we take a bath. I wash your hair, you know how I love to do that and on Monday evening I will await you and you can complain about your new partner.”

“ _Temporary_ Partner.” She insisted, placing her head at his shoulder. “That sounds nice.” She mumbled. “I like when you wash my hair, too.”

They held hands. His huge, metal hand and her soft, slender human hand.

“Does it bother you?” He whispered.

“Of course it does.” She growled. “I mean, to skip a day, okay, or even a weekend, but I was really looking forward to those two weeks.”  
“That’s not what I meant.”  
She met his view.

“I know.” She said plain, holding him tighter.

“Don’t think about it.” Her voice was more serious. “You’re here. You’re with me. We found Eden, we finally found peace and freedom. We’re happy. I couldn’t ask for more.”  
He didn’t answer. Her words were too good to be true.

“Are you happy?” She asked.

“As long as you here.” He answered honest.

“But you know, I can never…” He paused. “I never knew if I wanted children, or if you wanted. I can never be the man you de…” “Shut up.” Her voice was as soft as a feather. “You’re more of a man than I ever deserve. You gave me everything you could and even more. You returned to life for me. You found me. You know me my whole life and all my darkest secrets but you don’t judge me, you never abandoned me, no matter what I did.”  
“Stop talking like this. Don’t badmouth yourself.”

“I’m not.” She laughed, but it sounded sad. “I don’t like when you’re like this, Briareos.”

He looked at her. “I know, I’m sorry for ruining the mood.”  
“No.” She said, placing her free hand at his cheek. “Talk with me, when you feel like that, so I can tell you, that you’re the light and I know it.”

He looked away.

“From the outside most people think you’re the lucky one, I know. They think you’re lucky because I love you no matter your body.”  
He thought that as well.

“But the truth is, Briareos, I’m the lucky one. I’m lucky, because you understand me, you know everything about me and you still love me, you still stay with me. Don’t think less of you, my luv. Try to see you with my eyes.”

She hugged him.

“You always think too much in circles.”

“And you have become such a wise woman. Sometimes I feel so stupid next to you.”

She grinned.

“Oh you are. But if it makes you feel better I let you win during our next combat training.”  
“Don’t you dare pitying me.”  
He said, but couldn’t help the light feeling she put within him.

As long as she was with him, he could believe her effortless, but unfortunately he couldn’t keep it the moment she left.

“Stop making that face, Briareos. Alright, alright, I promise to fight fair and even with you, even if you lose.”

 

“Don’t make that face.”

He didn’t answer.

“Oh please, they aren’t that bad.”

“They’re worse than Jackson.”

“Yay, a compliment.”

“That was none.”

“Oh…”  
“Hey, the three musketeers.”

“Captain!”  
“Stop that. I’m still the same.”  
“”Well, at least you’re better than Johnson.”  
“Uh, someone’s in a bad mood.”

“He doesn’t like the new recruits.”  
“Well, it’s your own fault, you chose them yourself, if I recall correctly.”  
“I had to choose them because you wanted me to train your daughter, but she was not among them.”  
“Oh, now we’re getting closer to the real problem.”

“Will you shut it, Jackson?”

He stood up.

They were all sitting in his bureau, except for Carl, who had just walked in. Today had been his third training of the new ones. He trained them once a month, but he wasn’t satisfied. They had already sorted out more than half of them.

But if he were honest, he only liked two of them, well and maybe that Hades-guy. He was actually the one with the best grades, but… but something about him seemed off and he didn’t know what it was.

Carl faced him, his serious face slightly softer than usual.

“So you are mad at me.” He grinned.  
“The General is mad because you promised him a toy and he didn’t get it.”

“Jackson shut up or you’ll pay for it.”

“How? You’re gonna kill me?”

“I don’t need such barbaric methods to torture you. I’m your superior.”

“And I’m your superior. So stop molesting your underlings.”  
“What do you want, Carl? Weren’t you off the whole week?”

He changed the subject quickly, while his Majors tried their best to hide their grins.

“I just ordered your toy.”

“What?”  
“I talked with Commander Watson. Deunan will be on your next scouting list. It was not an easy deal, but next month she’s all yours.”  
“Hey, Briareos! Where are you going?”

“I need to talk with the Commander!”  
“And off he is… what’s this all about, he’s strange today.”  
“Carl, what are you smiling, our youngster seemed rather mad, shouldn’t you follow him?”  
“Oh no, it’s quite alright.”

“Could it be? You planned all this?”  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Aaron.” He grinned on.

“Hey, wait, wait a second. I don’t get it. What did you plan?”  
The blonde sat down, for a moment all men looked at each other. One smiling, one worried and one utterly confused.

“I just wanted to make sure he is actually human.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”  
“Well he’s becoming more and more of the soldier I saw him to be, not only the best in killing, but also his strategy skills have improved, his leadership skills, his teamwork skills, his training skills. You don’t actually think I made sure to put him into a leading position because he was that great already?”  
“You didn’t?”

“No, of course not. He was still a boy, dangerous and childish, impolite and ignorant, but he needed it for his confidence. The rank gave him strength to feel superior, so he could feel save between strangers. Even though it got him some attitude.”

“So you’re telling me, you made him General to boast his ego?”  
“Oh no. I only made him Major, the rest he did himself.”

“But what about your daughter now, Carl? It’s hard to believe you only use her as a pawn in your game.”  
“Of course not. She’s my daughter. I love her. I would give her my all. But she might be the only one.”  
“The only one for what?”

The Captain stayed quiet for a moment.  
“He likes her. I don’t know why, because he has seen her only twice in his life, but he defended her in front of me. I want to see why. So I made him curious. He thinks he’s the one in charge, but actually it’s all a set up. And if it works it’s a win-win-situation. He becomes a greater man and she becomes a better soldier. Watson would never allow me to train my own daughter, but with Briareos’ support he’ll give in.”  
“But your daughter is only eleven. I wouldn’t want my son to be fighting at that age already.”  
“I have no choice, Nathaniel. The weak will die.”

“So you did this all to make Deunan part of this departure and to test if Briareos actually has emotions?”  Aaron asked.

“I did this to see if he realizes that there are emotions even he cannot blend out, to see if he’s capable of function while having those emotions.”

“You’re crazy Carl. This is just madness.” Jackson meant, a little bit scared.

“But now he heads for the Commander, why?”  
“Oh, because he wants to test her earlier. He isn’t aware of it yet, but he’s already in my trap.”  
Carl laughed softly, but the men in front of him turned as pale as paper.

“What’s wrong guys. It’s genius, isn’t it? I wanted to make sure Deunan’s coming in my team and now thanks to Briareos she will for sure and he doesn’t even know.”  
“So instead of just asking for my support, you decide to put up a trap for me, Captain?”

The cold, dark voice of the young General vibrated through the room. The blonde twisted around, almost falling from his chair.

The dark-skinned man folded his arms and showed a grim face, he really seemed dangerous right now.

“And you think I’d actually fall for it?”  
“You didn’t?”  
All were silence for a minute.

“Your daughter’s in on Tuesday. Don’t be late.”


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 

“Oh gosh, have you seen that? Why would somebody be so stupid?!”

The next moment the intercom was used.

“What do you think you’re actually doing there?! I haven…” “Private Knute, the time will be reset by ten minutes. You may start anew.”  
He turned the intercom off.

“Would someone please accompany the Captain outside?”

“What, you’re kicking me out? This is my…”  
“Shut it, Carl. You may have trapped me, but you’re still too emotionally involved into this. We don’t talk during the scouting with the apprentices. Get out, you’re bothering me.”

He massaged his temples and loosened his shoulders, while Jackson brought Carl outside.

He knew Carl’s temper when it came to his daughter and he knew his urge for perfectionism. He could live with both for Carl was Carl. But he was not in the best mood himself and it was difficult to stay neutral when a young girl tried to pass the test while her father was giving her commands.   
This here wasn’t training, it was a test! No help, no interruption, just observation.

He had put in fewer agents than usual but ordered them to act on a higher level.

As expected she was better than most recruits. Being trained by Carl from young age on would make anyone superior, he had no doubt she would pass the test. The real question was whether or not she was suited for actual combat. She was thin, short and fragile.   
She was eleven now. At the brink of becoming a teenager, she would grow, but her physically conditions were a disadvantage, Carl was right about that.

She was weak, even for a girl her age compared to the training she received, but she was swift and moved like a dangerous cat.

She didn’t hesitate, she didn’t doubt her decisions. She didn’t break.

She was good. She was really good.

Time was over.

“Okay, Knute.” He said through the intercom. He knew Carl was worried he would be too soft on her. Something impossible, because he was capable of controlling his emotions.

“We will now add four agents. There will be a total of ten in it. I give you ten minutes to eliminate at least half of them. No shooting weapon.”  
She tossed her fake gun to the ground and pulled out a thin wire. He was curious.

“You like this game, don’t you?”  
Jackson showed up again.

“To see what they’re capable of doing without a gun.”  
“I’m actually doing her a favor right now.”  
“What? This girl only had a chance because she had a long distance weapon, but now…”  
“She’s trained by Carl, don’t forget that. Up until now her order has been to stay passive, to stay alive. Now she switches into the active mode. She isn’t the bait anymore, but the hunter. That’s her element.”

“You cannot expect a girl to take down five trained agents within ten minutes. That’s insane.”  
“I expect her to take down seven.”

“What?”

“Yes, anything below five would really disappoint me.”

She took down eight.

He was impressed, but he expected to be impressed. She was Carl’s daughter after all. He had spent years to train her. Had taken her with him wherever he had to go. She wasn’t perfect yet, but for her age, being almost nine years younger than he was, she did a fairly good job, especially as a girl.

He came into the waiting room. She was standing there, still wet from sweat, her short blond hair clinging to her forehead.

Carl was with her. Talking to her in his serious voice, not loud, but certainly not happy.

When he entered they both turned towards him.

She had grown since the last time he had seen her, but well she had been five at that time, and he had been fourteen. Things had changed.

He didn’t know if she remembered him, maybe it was better if not.

“So?”

Carl’s voice was impatient. He had probably watched his daughter’s performance from the monitors in the other waiting room, like all the other men. Everyone was curious about her.

“Captain Knute, would you please leave.”  
“What?”

“This is scouting-practice. I’m entitled to inform only the recruit themselves about their grades and if they passed or not. Family-members are not allowed.”

“But I’m the Captain.”

“Right now you’re not on duty and you’re here on private matter. So please leave the room.”  
The girl’s eyes grew big, but not as big as Carl’s.

He gritted his teeth and went for the door.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” He hissed, as he passed Briareos.

“Every second of it.”

He waited for the door to be closed.

“So, what did your father tell you?”

“He said, I would make an eighty, Sir, eighty-two if you’re kind.”

“Private Knute. This is war, there’s no place for kindness.”

She nodded. She needed seventy-five percent to pass. She didn’t get a special treatment just because she was young or a girl. She had to do the exact same all the other recruits had to do.

In his career there had been less than ten men making it past the eighty, only one making it past ninety, most usually passed with something in between seventy-five to seventy-seven, everything above was already excellent.

“You made an eighty. So welcome in training.”  
She nodded again. He could see the relief in her eyes, but her face stayed stern. Oh yes, she was already strong in her mind. He liked it. She wasn’t a crybaby anymore.

“As you father probably told you, my name’s Briareos, but everyone calls me General. Same goes for you. You might be the Captain’s daughter and you might be young, but I don’t allow any weak spots in this unit. If you want to be part of it, you have to earn your place.”  
She nodded again.

“You will do the exact same training everybody else does and if you’re weaker than they are you stay longer, you go extra rounds. I promised your father I will make your body strong. I would hate to let him down.”

She nodded again.

“You’re dismissed for now. Go, take a shower and get something to eat. At two o’clock at my office. Don’t be late.”  
“Yes, Sir.”  
He turned around but before he reached the door he looked back.

She was still standing there tense, realizing that battle wasn’t over yet. Oh yes, he liked her way.

He left.

“So, what do you think?” Carl was directly behind the door. He almost ran into him.

“Let’s go to the office, I don’t like talking in corridors.”

“Briareos!”  
The blonde grabbed his shoulder.

“You already know she passed, so what…”  
“I don’t want to hear about the protocol. I want to know what you’re thinking. That’s why I brought her here. I know she easily passes this stupid test. I brought her here so she can get the best training possible and because you’re the only objective one I trust.”  
“She’s good, alright? She’s still soft in her mind and weak in her body, but she’s young, she hasn’t seen war yet. But she’s smart, not slow on the uptake, her strategic thinking will one day rival yours. I’ll teach her how to make an advantage out of her disadvantage.”

“So you’re actually…”  
“You forget that children need time.”  
“Huh?”  
“Don’t huh me. Children act differently from grown people, they have to. I know she holds her weight wrong when she’s aiming, she has to, it’s not her fault. Her body is more flexible than one of a grown up, she can better adjust, but she misses the strength to endure the recoil. And also the way a child thinks is differently. I know that, I’ve been in her shoes. So what you are spotting as mistakes are actually things she cannot change, maybe never will, because she will never be as tall and strong as we are. She has to find her own way.”

He walked down the hallway.

“You have become soft Briareos.”  
“Don’t confuse empathy with softness, Carl.”

Carl was next to him, a tiny smile behind his serious look.

“You like her?”  
“Yes, I do.”

 

“Careful, careful… yes, one more step.”  
“It’s alright.” He laughed. “I’m fine. I’m fine.”

She looked up, her face a picture of pure worries. “Yeah, but I think that bath was just too much for you. You seem awfully tired.”

“I am tired. It’s been a long day, but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of walking a few steps on my own. My legs are fine, remember, they got repaired.”

She laughed softly as well, but her eyes stayed stern.

“I can’t believe our single free day together is almost over. It went by in a blast.”

He slumped down at their bed, pulling her close.

“Well, we’ve spent most morning in the hospital until those freaking doctors let me go, so we only had about eight hours together and alone.”

Deunan kicked of her heavy boots and lay down beside him, overcautious not to touch any of his bandages.

“I really don’t wanna go to work tomorrow.” She complained.

“Yes, you do! You’ve been dying on boredom the last couple of days. I mean, you’ve been cooking and don’t think I haven’t noticed that you went running again.”  
She sighed. “Yeah, sure you’re right. I can’t wait to go back to training. I don’t think I’ve been on such a long break for the last twenty years. But it just won’t be the same without you.”

“You act like I’m never coming back. The doc said I’ll be good to go within two weeks. Don’t underestimate a Hecatonchires.”

“You mean, don’t underestimate a Briareos.” She snickered.

“Either way.” He admitted and pulled her closer.

“Be care…” “If you say that word for another time today I’ll throw you out of bed.”

“Naa, you wouldn’t do that, would you?”  
“You wanna give it a shot?”

“I would like to shoot you once we’re back in training.”  
“Well, try not to shoot your new partner, will ya?”  
“ _Temporary_ partner!”

He laughed loudly.

“Oh my, I feel already sorry for that fellow.”

“You should feel sorry for me. Two weeks! For two weeks I’m stuck with an idiot.”  
“You don’t know if he’s smart or not. Maybe he’s a genius like your father.”  
She bit her cheek.

“I know, he’s an idiot.” She hissed.

“So Lance already told you, who your teammate will be?”

She shook her head. “Of course not. He’s too afraid I might knock him out, before we officially meet.”

“So how do you know?”

She rolled her eyes.

“Isn’t that obvious?” She leaned closer, kissing him. “I know because he won’t be you.”

He caressed her soft, short hair. “But even I’m not perfect. You’re the best to know. Even I do fail and maybe there is somebody better than I am.”

She punched him softly, not really trying to hurt him.

“I think you’re strange lately.” She murmured.

“Maybe you’re just realizing it twenty years too late.”  
“You always talk about stupid things lately. You know you’re the best at following me. Nobody knows me like you do. You’re the only one I can trust completely out there. I know you’ll always back me up.”

“Of course I do. You’re my point man and it’s my job to follow you. And I’ll always have your back…”

“Because I’ll always do what’s best for you.” She grinned in a bad imitation of his voice, but suddenly her face turned white.

“Oh no!”

“What is it?” He asked in concern. Her unexpected change of mood worried him.

“I forgot.” She whispered in sadness and guilt. “Oh no, I really forgot.”  
“Deunan. What are you talking about? What’s wrong?”  
He took her arm, while her green eyes grew big.

“I’m so sorry, Bri.”  
“Why? For what? What did you forget? Deunan, talk to me.”  
She was close to tears.

“I wanted to make this our perfect little holiday, but now I messed up. I ruined it all.”

“You didn’t ruin anything. We watched TV, bathed together and now we’re here. It’s all good.”

“It’s not! We shouldn’t just lie here in bed together. I had other plans!”  
Now he was more confused than worried. What else was she planning to do in bed?

She started crying.  
“I forgot to order the pizza!”

He laughed.

“This ain’t funny!”

But he continued laughing, framing her beautiful face with his hands and wiping away those silent tears.

“Don’t worry, my dear. I know just what to do, so our perfect little holiday won’t be ruined.”  
“Really?” Her eyes lit up with new hope. “What?”  
Now he laughed low and husky.

“You will see.” He whispered dangerously and pulled her close, ignoring the pain of his wounds.

She let go a soft sound of surprise.

“Briareos!”  
“Deunan.” He answered in a dark grin.

 

“Where is he?”

“Don’t worry. It’s Tuesday, he won’t be late.”

“Look, there’s Aaron. Hey, Smith. Where’s the General?”

“Nathaniel, what are you still doing here? Isn’t Maria going to be mad at you?”  
“No, the General invited me to Thompson’s today.”  
“He invited all of us.” The Captain stated cold. “But he’s late. You know where he’s holding up?”  
“Yeah sure, Captain. He’s at the drill ground. I just saw him there.”

The black-haired one and the blonde shared a glance.

“What’s he doing there? Training’s been over hours ago.”  
The blonde nodded. “He never misses a Tuesday at Thompson’s. Is something wrong?”

“I think he just lost track of time. We can go and pick him up.”

The three operatives walked down to the practice venue. But they didn’t only find their youngest one.

“Say, isn’t it…?”  
“What are they doing?”

“…” The blonde didn’t say a word, but his face turned ice-cold.

For a moment they simply watched the two figures down the ground. It was obvious that the smaller one hadn’t noticed them yet, but the taller one did. For one second his hard glance was placed upon them, telling them straight to go back where they came from. But of course none of them were to follow that silent order. It was after-work after all.

“Wow, she’s actually quite good. I have never seen her in action since her scouting. She improved a lot.”  
“No surprise. Briareos has been training her almost every day.”

“What?!” The Captain’s sharp voice made the young soldier down there flinch for a second, long enough to be kicked to the ground.

“You knew that, Smith?! You knew she got special treatment by Briareos?”

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Carl. It’s not like he’s too soft on her or anything. He’s just helping her to become better. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

But the Captain was already leaning over the rail and yelled: “General! Get up here!”

The dark-skinned man placed both feet back on the ground and looked up at him, interrupting his disciple with a raised hand.

Then he folded his arms.

“Are you ordering me because you’re my superior or because you’re an overprotective father?”

The blonde blushed slightly, while the men at his side tried to hide their grins.

“Are you going to ignore my order?!”

Even from the distance the loud sigh accompanied by rolling eyes was noticeable.

The young general made his way up to the three men, giving the young girl a sign to stay behind. When he was close to the rail, he folded his arms again, raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong, Carl? Don’t act like I did something wrong.”  
“Favoring a subordinate is wrong, Briareos. I thought you knew you shouldn’t treat her any different just because she’s my daughter.”

“I’m not favoring her. It’s the opposite.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t huh me.”

The young man turned his back towards the three men.

“Like I told you. She’s good for her age and for a girl. But she’s not as good as the other trainees. So she’s taking the double.”

Briareos started to walk away.

“Wait!” The black-haired man yelled after him. “What about Thompson’s? It’s Tuesday! You never miss the Steaks-day.”

The General raised his hand.

“Sorry pal. I’m taking my job serious here. If you wanna go, you can. Carl knows where my card is, this one is on me.”

“What? I thought it would be us, the Musketeers back together. I have rarely seen you the last months.”

But the dark-skinned man didn’t stop walking.

“Stop sounding like an old hag, Jackson! Go on and eat, you’re not you, when you’re hungry.”

Then the General continued training.

“Was he…just making a joke?” Jackson asked, utterly concerned.

“I think so. He seems to be smiling more lately as well.” Smith agreed and turned around to leave.

“Let’s get going, if we’re too late they give away our table.”

“Man, I was so looking forward for our manly dinner.”

“At Thompson’s?” The Captain asked slightly sarcastic. “Right.”

“But it’s highly unusual for Briareos to step out of his schedule.” Aaron murmured.

“I tell you, he’s a young man now.” Nathaniel said in a wise tone. “Even this guy of a fighting machine has to notice the needs the likes of us have. Even more now, surrounded by a beautiful young girl, who’s eagerly hanging on his lips.”

“The girl, eagerly hanging on his lips, you’re talking about is my underage daughter, Jackson.”  
The blonde said less cold, but more dangerous.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 

Harshly he fell to the ground.

“Wow. That one was actually quite good.”

He got up smoothly, striking his hair back.

“I kinda have the feeling you’re going easy on me today.” She laughed softly in-between quick breaths, wiping away the sweat from her forehead.

“Na, I would never do that. You’re just having a good day.”  
“Oh, so now you’re saying it’s not because of my skills but just because of pure luck?”

“Maybe.”

“Take it back!” She yelled grinning and attacked again.

Effortless he dodged her fist and kicked her to the ground.

“Don’t push your luck too far, young lady.”

He was standing in front of her, offering her a hand.

“Let’s call it a day.”  
“What? No. It’s not even dark yet.”

“But we started early and you smell like rotten fish. Besides, it’s Tuesday and I don’t want to be late.”  
She got up, patting the dust off her pants.

“I don’t smell like rotten fish, that’s sweat!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, go and take a shower. We’ll continue tomorrow.”  
He wanted to leave.

“Briareos?”

He stopped but didn’t turn around.  
“Are you inviting my father and Major Smith and Jackson again?”

He shook his head. “No, not this time. Your father and Smith have an important meeting to attend to and Jackson is home with his family.”

“An important meeting and you’re not there?”

He grinned, but she couldn’t see it from behind. “It wasn’t part of my schedule.”

After a second he turned around.

“So what about you?”

“Huh?”

“What’s with that sound? Did your father teach it to you? It’s awful.”

“It’s just a huh.”

“It sounds stupid and I don’t like smart people sounding stupid, so don’t huh me.”

She laughed. “You’re an odd man, Briareos.”

“So what are you going to do this evening, Deunan?” He changed the subject swiftly.

“Oh, I don’t really have any plans. Father won’t have time until the early morning, so I thought about grabbing a bite and then go to bed. I actually thought we would train longer.”

He brood about it for a moment. This girl was capable of doing a lot of things, but cooking was not among her skills.

“You want to accompany me?”  
“Huh?”

“Do not huh me! I asked if you would like to go downtown with me and eat at Thompson’s. Good food tastes best in good company.”

For a moment she looked at him surprised, but then her face lightened up with a smile. It was the first time he noticed how much she had changed. She was turning into a woman slowly, her combat skills beyond comparison. She was one of their best members, being only fifteen and it was only a matter of time until she would surpass him, he was making sure of that.

“Sure, I’d love to. I haven’t eaten any good stuff for… oh no, I meant…”

“It’s alright, I know our mess is everything else than great. Okay take your shower and change. I await you outside in twenty minutes.”

Their ways parted at the locker rooms.  
After a quick shower he went outside.

Things were changing, like always, it was interesting how he’d gotten used to it. There was war surrounding them, but right now he tried his best to enjoy this fragile image of peace the United States tried to hold up. He knew it would break sooner or later, but he would be ready, whenever it was time.

This base in California had become his home, the men at his side his family. He cared for them even though he had urged himself to never allow such feelings. Especially Nathaniel was dear to him, for he felt like he was responsible for that idiot. Unfortunately life was quite busy for the last few months, so they weren’t spending as much time together as they used to – and he would never admit that he missed that- but so it had become a weekly tradition of Carl, Aaron, Nathaniel, and him to eat at Thompson’s on Tuesdays.  

Of course not all of them would make it all the time, but this was the first Tuesday in more than four months that he was supposed to eat alone. It would be such a sad thing to do.

Especially when he knew that someone else was in this base, just as alone and even more important as hungry as he was.

“Hey, Briareos!”

Just at that moment Deunan came out of the building, waving at him as she walked over.

She and her father had been living at the base since she was recruited all those years ago. Carl saw no necessity in keeping a house no one was living in. He had no time to drive home and he certainly had no time to pick up his own daughter or to bring her home. So she lived at the base as well, her room just down the hallway from Briareos’.  Carl had a special bedroom next to his office.

Even though she was already fifteen Deunan had no driver license yet, partly because she had no time to take the test and partly because she could already drive and saw no reason in taking the test. But the main reason was actually that she had no money to afford her own vehicle, because Carl held the financial control, like the overprotective father he was, not realizing that he was shutting out her only way to society.

“Hey, Davina.” She whispered more softly as she reached the motorbike next to him and caressed her swiftly. She had learned driving on his machine, giving her multiple scratches. But he didn’t mind. Davina had given him great service for the last ten years, but she was growing old as well and it had been a good thing to teach that girl one or two things.

He tossed over the helmet. “So hop on.”

She sat down behind him, holding on to his waist.

“Are you ready?” He asked in a little grin.

“Always.”  
And off they drove.

He was used to her fingers clinging on to him, for he had taken her with him multiple times by now, usually for work. Being the Sergeant she was, there was a lot to do these days. He remembered the short discussion he had with Chief Watson three years ago, when he had stated that he wanted to have her under his direct order, but he was good in convincing.

When she became part of their unit she had been weak, soft and easily breakable. Even the years of training with Carl hadn’t changed too much about that, but he had promised Carl to take care of his girl and after he had realized that Carl was simply not capable of controlling his emotion when it came to his daughter, he had decided to take the lead.

He hadn’t realized at that moment how much time he would be spending with that little girl. It was like his first years with Carl, only he being the one in charge now. They spent most of their days with each other, he trained her to become the best there was. Just like Carl had told him he had seen her talent, but unlike Carl he knew that it’s no good to push all that talent at once, it took time to grow, just like he had needed time when he had been younger.

At the restaurant they were led to his usual table, a bottle of wine already waiting – Aaron loved wine, he was not really found of it, but some tasted good – and Deunan at his side, beaming like a light-bulb. It must had been her first time in a restaurant for a long time.

They had become quite close in the last couple of years; Carl had tried to keep his daughter at distance, in order to keep private from business, so Briaeos had to take care of her, to make sure she could survive. With time he had started to like her. Even though they were different in a lot of things, they had a lot in common as well.

It seemed easy to talk with her, she used clear, direct speech, not those twisted sentences, and double-meaning words. She was true to her heart and straight-forward, strong minded and smart.

“Say Briareos?” She raised her voice, looking down at her half-eaten steak.

“What is it?” He asked, noting her serious voice.

“Do you… do you and my father talk… about me… sometimes?”

“Of course we do. You’re my subordinate and Carl’s my boss.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” She said, looking away.

“I know.” She looked up, but he simply held her gaze, waiting for her to react.

“Briareos, does my father hate me?”

Her direct questions were uncomfortable for most people, but it was actually one of the things he liked about her.

“Why do you think so?”

She bit her lip.

“He’s always so stiff, when he’s talking to me. Like I’m nothing more than a soldier, and not a good one for that matter. Did I do anything wrong?”

He grinned half-heartedly. “Don’t worry about that. He’s always moody. It’s not your fault.”

Again she looked away.

“But I realized how much he smiles when you’re around. When you’re talking with him, he’s like back then. I like that look on him, but he never looks at me that way.”

He placed his knife and fork at his empty plate, regarding her closely.

“Listen up, Deunan.” He said in a voice in-between teacher and friend. “Your father loves you more than anything in this world. Believe me; I know him for longer than you live and everything he does is only for protecting you.”

“But why can’t he at least be less grumpy to me?”  
He shook his head.

“Your father’s a strong man, Deunan, but that doesn’t mean, he’s not in pain. Ever since your mother died, he had become the way he’s now. You’re his daughter and all I…”

He interrupted himself as his cell-phone started ringing. He changed a quick glance with the girl across the table and picked up.

It was Carl.

“Captain.” He said harsh but calm.

“Hey, Briareos. Where are you?”  
_Private_

“I’m at Thompson’s with Deunan, it’s Tuesday.”

“Yes, I thought so. Could you please come back?”

Unusual, calm words. Not an order, but a question.

“What’s the matter Carl? Is the meeting already over?”

Deunan’s green eyes lay upon him, cautious, a hand at her hip, surely close to a weapon.

“I need to talk with you about something, but you cannot tell Deunan. Can you come back, now?”  
“Of course. I’m on my way.”

He ended the call and looked at the girl across the table.

“I’m sorry, some business came up and your Captain of a father is calling me in.”  
She sighed and bit her lip.

“We didn’t even have desert yet.”  
“Oh don’t worry, I`ll order some to go, you can eat it back at the base.”

“The ice cream will be melted by then.”  
“Only if we’re too slow.”  
He could see the little spark in her eyes.

“Come on, get up, Sergeant.”

 

“Come on! Get up!”  
She folded her arms and looked down at that good for nothing bioroid she was training with.

Wataru!

An idiot!  
How was it possible that she, after being off for more than four weeks, resting, was still so much better than he was? It wasn’t only disappointing, it was hurting.

She knew it wasn’t because she was that good, she could feel the lack of energy in her muscles, but it was simply because he was that bad. A total failure!

_Don’t compare him to you. They aren’t trained the way we are._

She could hear the dark voice of the cyborg in her head.   
Yeah, that’s what Briareos would say.  
_He just needs some time to get used to your ways. Be patient._

Briareos never needed time to get used to something. She never had to be patient with him.

But he had been patient with her. She remembered the hours they were training together, remembered her light skin against his dark one, muscle against muscle, will against will. She missed those kinds of fights, when they had been going all the way down. Actually willing to kill the other one, but never doing it.

Wataru never had that will, it was training for him, but for her it was a fight. Yes, they had been trained differently. Nobody was trained the way she was, the Carl’s way, except for Briareos.

After another two hours they finished, both of them unsatisfied, but Wataru was of course the polite pain in the ass most of those bioroids were.

She knew she was unfair and mean for the moment, but she didn’t care. She missed Briareos, who was probably still in bed, taking his beauty sleep. And that her new _temporary_ partner had so much resemblance to her man frustrated her. She was used to a lot of bioroids looking similar to Briareos’ human form, for they had more or less of his DNA, just like they had her father’s one. Usually it wasn’t that much of a deal. Except for Tereus she had never met one who looked exactly like him, most of them looked like siblings, or somehow related. The same was with Wataru. He didn’t look like Briareos used to. He actually had a much lighter skin and his facial features were different.

If she wouldn’t know that he had the Hecatonchires’ DNA she wouldn’t have noticed it, until he opened his mouth.

His voice, trembling, and weak as it was, was an exact duplicate of Briareos’.

Of course Briareos still sounded like Briareos but due to the artificial body his voice had been altered slightly, being a little bit darker, a little bit more mechanic.

Tereus on the other hand had sounded much lighter, with a different kind of melodic to his voice even though they could have been twins from their looks.

But Wataru sounded just like him, just like Briareos used to sound back at that time.

But this was not even the actual problem.

The actual problem was that he used this strong and calm voice he was blessed with to sound like a weakling.

It hurt her heart, when he got up, huffing like a dying cat. His battle-cry reminded her of a breaking engine. She would have never assumed Briareos could sound like that and it felt like Wataru was soiling her memories by simply breathing. She would never forgive him for that, even though it wasn’t even his fault.

Back out of the changing room she made her way to the Commander’s office.

It was like he had been expecting her.

“No.” Lance said, as she entered, before she could even close the door.

“What? I haven’t even asked any…”  
“You want me to team you up with somebody else. Not happening. Sorry.”

Puffed up she threw her hands up in the air.

“Why not? What about Ries? I heard Johnson got hurt during training. As for me I would even go with Tereus.”

The Commander folded his arms.

“No, you’re stuck with Wataru.”

“Why him? He’s bad. He knows barely more than the basics. I’m afraid he’ll shoot himself by cleaning his gun.”  
“Sorry Deunan. Not my part here.” Lance sounded tired as well as annoyed. “If you want it changed that badly, you have to go higher.”

She gazed at him for a moment.

“Nike?” She asked.

He didn’t react.

“Why? Why would she organize this?”

It wasn’t the first time Nike had put her hands in those things, and the last time had almost been a disaster. Deunan really wasn’t found of that woman and her strange reasoning.

“Like I said. If you want to know, you have to ask someone else. I’m just doing as I’m told and so should you.”

“Like hell I will!” She hissed and rushed outside.

She would talk some sense into that woman!

 

“Okay, so is there anything I can organize for you?”  
He stared at Carl, who was sitting in his Captain’s seat.

He was standing at the other side of the grand desk, scheming through a pile of medical documents.

“Not needed.”

He looked up.

The door behind them was locked, not only closed, but locked. It was in the middle of the night.

“Sit down, Briareos, please.”  
He did as he was asked, putting the papers down.

“So what do you think?”  
“You’re asking me? I’m no doctor.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’m still asking you.”

For a moment they were quiet.

“I think you should give it a shot.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t huh me. What’s wrong with your family? Who uses this strange sound?!”

“You really think I should try? Why?”  
He folded his arms.

“Simple reasons. There’s war coming, your daughter’s not ready yet and we need a Captain like you are.”

The blonde looked away.

“And on private now?”

He paused.

“On private?”  
“Yes, you told me your point of view as my General. But what do you think as my friend?”  
He looked at the blonde.

“As your friend I’m furious you’ve been keeping this so long from me. As your friend I’m more than worried about your path from now on and as your friend I really don’t know what to advice.”

“Thought so.” Carl muttered. “Just the exact thing I’m thinking.”

“So you don’t apologize for hiding this from me?”  
“No.”

“Thought so.”

They were silent for another time.

“So how much time do you have left?”  
The Captain shrugged his shoulders.

“Not sure. Without the treatment they say up to a year. With it I could make it up to five at the best. But we both know that with the upcoming disputes there might…”  
“Still you should do it.”

“You’re interrupting me? You’ve become quite rude.”  
“Listen Carl. A year isn’t enough. Even if you can make it only for another two or three, isn’t it worth it?”

“You know how exhausting and dangerous those treatments are, don’t you? I won’t be much of a help in combat.”

“No offense, my friend, but you’re the Captain; in real combat you won’t be at the front, but in the back, putting a strategy together. Even if your body isn’t working the way it should, your mind can.”

The blonde wanted to say something but he continued. “You remember General Schulz? I think she’s been death for somewhat ten years now. But she took part in that experiment. The doctors had given her half a year and she lived for another four or so. She gave her life for the progress of medicine, to heal the likes of you. Don’t dishonor her sacrifice.”

Carl laughed coldly. “You have changed a lot Briareos.”

“So have you.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t huh me! What about your daughter?”

“Deunan?”  
“Is there any other daughter you forgot to tell me about as well? When she was born you couldn’t spend enough time with her. After Gilliam’s death you took her with you wherever you went. But now you’re keeping your distance. Don’t you want to see her grow up? She’s fifteen now. She’s becoming a young woman. She wants to make you proud. Isn’t that reason enough to keep fighting?”

“You’ve spent a lot of time with Deunan, haven’t you?”  
“Of course. After all her father was not even trying to.”

“Is that a flak? You told me to back off, because I was emotionally too involved.”

“I told you to back off from business, not as a father from his daughter.”

“You like her.”

“Yes, I do.” He answered, even though it wasn’t needed.

“Why?” The older man asked.

He paused, but then he got up.

“Okay Carl, here’s the deal. I won’t allow you to give in on some stupid cancer without even a proper fight. You’ll do the treatment or I’ll make you do it.”

“What a supportive way.”  
“And you’ll spend more time with your daughter. It’ll be good for both of you.”

“Why are you so stubborn on this?”

He turned for the door.

“Isn’t that obvious?”  
Carl didn’t answer.

“I grew up alone, not even knowing who my father was or who gave me my name.”

He turned around to the other one.

“Deunan shall know who her parents were and you’re the closest thing I ever had to a family. I won’t allow you to let yourself down so easily.”

“Thank you.”

“What?”

Carl laughed.

“I’ve always cared for you, but you never said you did as well. If I’d know all it would take was the death penalty I would’ve tried that much earlier.”

“Stop joking. Isn’t funny.”  
“Briareos. May I ask you one last thing?”  
“Sure.”  
“I’ll do all you demand from me. But on one condition.”

“That is?”  
“Once the time comes and I’m gone, can you stay with her? Can you be her family and take care of her, protect her. Can I even dare to ask you to give your life for her?”

For a moment they shared a glance.

“You’re a smart man, Carl. If this isn’t another set up of yours.”

“You really think, I would avoid my own daughter for years, hoping you two could grow attached to each other? What a cruel thing for a father to do.”  
“Agreed. I will protect her and even give my life for her. Just like you I will always do what’s best for her.”

“Oh, that was surprisingly easy.”  
“Because your condition is none in my opinion.”

“Oh, why’s that?”  
“Because I already decided to protect her from the first time I met her.”


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 

“Can’t you do anything right? If this were real combat you’d be dead!”

The harsh voice of the Captain filled the speakers. „Don’t just lie around! Get back up!”

He placed a hand at his friends shoulder. “Carl. Stop it. It’s enough.”

Those strong green eyes glared at him like he had just insulted him.

“Don’t grow soft Briareos! This isn’t the right time...”  
“When I told you to spend more time with your daughter, I wasn’t talking about yelling at her through the intercom.”

Carl was going to reply, when a sudden voice filled their observation platform.

“Captain Knute, Major General. I need one of you up here within the next two minutes to take action.”

They shared a glance, before he nodded. This was unexpected.

“I go. You stay with your daughter.”  
“Be careful and come back alive.”  
“Sure do.”

He left. Carl wasn’t looking to good for the moment, the cancer treatment was taking his toll, but he was still alive, more than a year after he had told Briareos about all of this.

But nobody besides him and the Chief knew about it. No additional bad news for the department as the war at their border to Central America was already bad enough.

War had come, he could have said finally, because he had been waiting for it all his life, but it wasn’t like he was looking forward to it.

In the Chief’s office he was greeted by a grim face.

“Good to see you, Briareos.”  
“Watson, what’s the deal?”  
They had no time for privacies, business was on.

“Our men are needed at the border; the normal military is in need of assistance. I want you with a group of thirty men to leave immediately. I’ve put up a list. Twenty of them are capable of using landmates and I can give you fifteen of those. Anyone you want to add or scratch.”

His eyes ran over the list. He would have picked the exact same ones.

“You’ll be in command. Do whatever it takes. If you fail, we lose not only Mexico, but the peace we knew will be over.”

He nodded.

“I’m on my way.”

Not even half an hour later he and his operatives were in a jet on their way to war.

Nathaniel was sitting next to him.

“Finally some action.” Jackson grinned. “Haven’t had a good fight in years.”  
“Haven’t been fighting me, have you?”  But his voice was serious. Even though war was his life, he didn’t like it. All he wanted was peace, now that he knew freedom.

“ Major General?” He looked up, as a soldier entered their small operation room, where he was building up a strategy with his closest man. “There’s a call for you on the line.”

“Who is it?”  
“Sergeant Knute, Sir.”

“Put her through.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Man, that little girl’s quite attached to you, isn’t she?”  
He didn’t answer, but picked up the ringing phone.

For a moment there was silence.

“Briareos?” Her voice was soft, worried.

“Already on your break? Carl won’t be happy about your lack of spirit.”  
“This isn’t funny!”

“No it’s not. You should be working harder.”  
“Briareos!”

“Deunan.”  
“Why haven’t you taken me with you?”  
He was surprised. He didn’t expect this. He hadn’t even thought about it.

“Deunan. I’m not going on a business trip, you know. This is real combat.”

“I know! I wanted to come with you!”  
She sounded truly mad.

“You’re not ready yet.”

“I am ready!” She insisted. “Just because father…”  
“This has nothing to do with Carl, Deunan, I can take my own decisions and you weren’t part of it. Be patient. You’ll take action soon enough.”

She was silent for a second and he wondered when he had begun to explain himself to her.

“You could have said goodbye at least.”

He could already see her puffed, angry cheeks, as she grumbled like a small thunderstorm.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. Can’t leave you all alone with your father, can I?”  
She laughed softly, but it sounded worried.

After some more exchanged words, he hung up and went back to his seat. Nathaniel’s clear eyes on him.

“What do you want to say?” He asked almost annoyed, when the other one stayed quiet but stared at him for some minutes.

“Isn’t it bad luck to promise to return?”

“Isn’t it worse to believe in failure?”

They went back to work for time was precious.

They would need a special tactic, maybe something in guerilla style. Jackson could lead a small group behind the enemy’s borders and destroy them from inside. A risky strategy and he didn’t like what he was thinking about to do. But they were few and needed some huge effect.

After some more passed time the older one raised his voice again.

“It’s kind of funny to see how you’ve changed.”  
“I’m always changing, that’s part of being human.” He said without even looking up. This here was serious.

“Yeah I know. But that girl’s really important to you, isn’t she.”  
They shared a glance.

“How’s your boy, Nathaniel?”  
The man sighed.

“He’s fine, but Maria’s worried.”  
“Everybody’s worried.”

“But it’s worth it.”  
He looked up.

“You know, Briareos. I had to leave the States to realize that this is my home, my freedom, my Eden.”  
“Eden?” He asked. He knew most of his friends were Christian, even though he held no importance to religion, he didn’t believe in Gods. He had read the bible of course, trying to understand its belief.

“Yeah, all my life I was looking for the Promised Land, but after I left California I realized that where my roots are I belong to be.”

“So you’re saying California is the Garden Eden, Adam and Eve got kicked out? I thought it was somewhere in the Middle East.”  
“It’s a metaphor, Briareos. Those two had to leave their home to realize how important it was. The same goes for me.”

He stayed silent and continued working. His roots were somewhere in Africa, but there was no place for him to go. California certainly seemed like some Promised Land, but all he ever did was getting ready for war, fighting.

“Have you heard about the new island, they’re building?”

“You mean that small Africa next to real Africa? Didn’t they start years and years ago.”  
“They named it Olympus.”

He looked up.

“Yeah thought you’d like it.”  
He shook his head. “Let’s go back to work, Nathaniel. We have a war to win.”

Olympus… Promised Land… Garden Eden… names without content, for him at least.

“Let’s make sure we don’t keep our families waiting.”

“Got it.”

 

“So how you’re holding up?”

“I’m fine, Deunan. Don’t you worry about me, not like I’m the one on a mission.”

She laughed softly. “I’d feel better if you were. Just the idea of you being all alone at home, unable to move freely, pains me.”

“You know that I’m almost recovered, don’t you? I will return to work next week, so when you come back on Tuesday I’ll await you in the training room.”

“How romantic.”

She stopped for a moment.

“Okay, Bri, gotta go. Are you sure you’re fine?”  
“Yeah, don’t worry. Yoshitsune promised to come around, so I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, so I’m o…” “Deunan?”  
“Briareos.”

“Be careful, okay? Don’t get yourself killed.”

“Sure do.”

“And try to be nice to that Wataru-kid.”

“…”

“Deunan.”  
“Yeah… I’ll try…”

“Good girl. See you next week.”  
“Bye, I love you.”  
The already bad connection was turned off. Deunan was far outside of Olympus on a special mission, guarding an important trade-ship to the most southern islands of this artificial nation. Quite an unusual task for their unit, but as it was the order it was taken as it was.

She had called him from her landmate, something they were not supposed to do, but she had never cared for that rule, loving to do some private chit-chat while working. He admitted that he liked talking with her as well, she had been gone for a couple of days already and it was good to hear her voice.

He looked up, used to the faces turning away. It was an unusual sight for normal people to see a cyborg talking to himself, he needed no cell-phone or other devices to receive a call.

“I’m sorry.” He said and went back to the group of people.  
“No need for.” Nike answered plain. “It’s important to take such calls while you can.”

It wasn’t supposed to be a threat, but it damn much sounded like one.

 “So back to business.” She continued.

A man in white clothes at her side schemed through some papers.

“We would need another blood sample, if you may follow me.”

Briareos sighed. “Another one?”

“Yes, of course, we need to take one at least every twelve hours to make certain that both of your systems are identical. A difference by 0.001% would already lead to failure.”

He followed the man in white and his colleagues into a huge white room. Big machines buzzed softly, the sound of flowing fluid filled the air. Low conversations and the tapping of keyboards mixed in between.

In the middle of the room stood a large glass-tube, filled with some green fluid. The tube was connected to something that could be some kind of the most modern dentist-chair. The wires in between blinked in different lights, some slower and warmer, some others more hectic and cold.

It was no nice environment to work in. At least for him.

Yoshitsune beside him on the other hand looked around marveled, eyes wide, mouth open.

“This is amazing.” He whispered.

“Haven’t you’ve been here before?” He asked, looking down at the bioroid, who gleamed with excitement.

“Yeah sure, I built parts of it, but I’ve not seen it in action yet, filled with life.”

“ _Filled with life_?” He echoed sarcastically, regarding all the mechanic devices and chemical smells. This had few to do with life and nature in his opinion.

Nike in front of him was talking with more men and women in white, but he wasn’t listening. He needed no knowledge about the science in detail. All he needed to know was what his part was.

He looked at the undefined object within the huge glass tube. 

“That’s gross.” Yoshitsune meant.

“Don’t say that!” A harsh voice scolded him, as the scientist from earlier showed up. He had been a student of Dr. Wilder and was therefore the best replacement they could have hoped for.

“What you see there is a miracle; we’re creating life right now. We’re changing the world.”

“But it does look gross.” Briareos agreed chuckling, placing a hand against the glass.

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

The scientist raised an eyebrow. “Well at least four weeks, maybe five. We’re doing all we can right now. But two months aren’t exactly much time for something this important.”

He nodded. No, that was right. Two months weren’t much time for something this world changing. But he felt like he wanted it to happen right now.

“Luckily Prof. Dr. Wilder was almost done with his research.” The scientist continued. “All we needed to do was to read his studies and follow his schedule.”

“Well, following a traitor’s notes doesn’t sound too trustworthy.” Yoshitsune admitted, looking concerned. “Why was he even betraying his own folks?”  
“It’s this project.” Briareos answered instead of the man in white.

“What?”

“Yeah. I read his journal. He stated that Athena denied him this experiment, because she was worried about the danger it would put me in. But he saw the potential and it took him little time to organize an ambush, since he knew several people from the underground. All of it was actually nothing more than a trap to lure me out of Olympus so he could capture me and try his thesis.”

“His brilliant mind always went strange paths.” The scientist added. “We were already working on a program with Nike, but he wasn’t patient enough to wait for the official approval. So much could have been undone, if he could have waited.”

“So am I getting this right?” Yoshitsune asked. “Wilder got kicked out of Gaia’s research lab, because he wanted to do this experiment, died while trying to capture you to do this experiment and now we’re doing his experiment? Sounds more than wrong.”

“He got kicked out because he wanted to do it without my agreement, the same reason why he died. If he would have simply asked me before going to Athena, a lot of things would be different. But in the end he still won.” Briareos said cold, remembering the comrades he had lost just because of one stupid scientist being short-tempered.

“If this succeeds Prof. Dr. Wilder’s legacy will outlive his lifetime by far. It’s an honor to inherit such great knowledge.” The scientist stated.

The other two shared a glance.

 

He stared at the landscape.

He remembered those pictures from his early childhood, years and years ago.

For another moment he was frozen, but then he dialed.

“General Jackson, answer!”

No reaction.

“General!”

They had won. South America had resigned half an hour ago, only few days after the ESWAT took action. Their superior weapons and combat skills had given them countless advantages, but still this was war and they were few in numbers.

He brought his landmate down, it was one of the first capable of flying, close to the ground. Their ambush had been a success, but since the explosion he had lost all connection to the front team.  
They had won and now all that was left for them to do was to collect their five missing comrades.

“Leroux, Hades. You see anything?”  
“No, Sir.”  
“Hades?”

It was silent for a moment in their connection.

“I’ve found them.” The young man’s voice was dark and filled with sorrow.

“I’m coming.”

His landmate detected Hade’s coordinates, he wasn’t far away. In a matter of minutes he reached his comrade.

Or at least his landmate. The soldier himself had left his weapon, standing not far away at a cliff.

“Hades.” He called through the speaker, landing close to the blonde.

He walked up the last few steps and followed the blonde’s view. The cliff was not made by nature, but had been victim to the explosion a short time ago. The land behind was nothing more than a sight of death and fire.

“They couldn’t have survived. They’re all dead now. This isn’t supposed to happen. Why did they fail?” Hades murmured filled with grief. “It was a mistake to let a bioroid join the operation. Anyone else would have made a better point man. In the end they’re only second rate hum…”

“Shut it, Sergeant! Jackson wanted Doyle in his team. He was a good man. Don’t let your emotions cloud your mind.”

With another step he moved over the cliff, falling down those thirty feet, his landmate landed harshly on the ground. Doyle had been the first artificially advanced human to make it to their unit. Nathaniel liked him for several reasons and there was actually no difference in between him and _other_ humans. But like skin color or family background, being different was reason enough to be avoided.

Doyle had been the first one Nathaniel had chosen for his special task.

Only seconds later Hades landed beside him, back in his landmate. He knew that the blonde had made some precious friends in this unit, but right now that was not of importance.

“Leroux!”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Inform the base that we found them. We’ll need something to recover them; I think the gunship’s the closest. Meet them midway and bring them here.”  
“Yes!”

“Let’s go, Hades.”

“Yes.”

The air was filled by black, heavy smoke, making it impossible to see very far, but Hades had been right. Between the ruins they found them. Parts of them still burning, four bodies in total. The ground below them was grumbling, telling them that they needed to leave soon.

“The General is not among them.” Hades stated cold, the pain still in his voice.

“Hades, you stay with them. Try your best to recover them. If it’s getting dangerous, get out of here.”

“What about you, Major General?”

“I’m getting Jackson back home.”

He left his soldier behind, heading through the mist of burned air.

He already knew where to find his comrade. In the end Nathaniel had been too smart. Knowing that only he was capable to do what needed to be done. Unfortunately his sacrifice, saving thousands of soldiers and ending the war, had put an end to the lives of four great comrades.

For a moment his breath paused as he saw the landmate he had been looking for. It was completely destroyed, except for the human arms, all limbs were missing.

With heavy steps he reached the other landmate and jumped out of his own. With swift fingers he opened the cockpit, coughing as the surrounding air was hot as lava.

The broken glass moved aside, allowing him to see inside.

He bit his lips. Pieces of glass had pierced face and chest of the landmate’s pilot, but the blood was already drying. He was too late. The sides of his eyes hurt, like thousand of little needles were piercing him. Pain flooded his chest and for eternity he lost any emotion. This couldn’t be!

“I’m…sorry.”

“Nathaniel! You’re alive!”

The other one was coughing, but surely alive! He wasn’t too late!

“I’m sorry…I let you down…again.”

“No you didn’t! We won the war, you did a great job.”

He tried to open the safety belts. He needed to be fast, he needed to act. They could make it, they could…  
“It’s no use…” His friend whispered. “It’s okay.”

His eyes itched. No, he wouldn’t give up, not yet.

“Don’t worry, Jackson. I’ll get you out. The gunship’s on its way. Don’t you…”

“It’s fine… Briareos.”

Weak hands stopped his own. “You were right in the end…I’m an idiot… got killed by…”

“You’re not an idiot, Nathaniel.” He hissed, holding the other man’s arm, not able to do anything else. He knew it, had known it from the moment he had seen the landmate, but he wouldn’t accept it.

Jackson’s injuries had to be severe, his breathing sounded raspy, his lungs were probably filled with fluid, filled with blood. His lower body had to be crushed, his legs probably gone. He wouldn’t last long enough, they both knew it and it was impossible to free him from his broken landmate. No matter what he would do, this was the end.

“I would have done the exact same thing you did, my friend. You saved thousands of lives, you’re a hero.”  
The black-haired man laughed softly, coughing, gasping for air.

“That’s the first time…you’ve said something kind.”

“Maybe I’ve just grown soft. Around those three idiots of you it’s hard to stay cold.”

“Maybe…” The other one agreed.

Death wasn’t what books or movies told it to be. Sometimes it’s fast, unexpected, but usually it’s slow. Hours of pain, waiting for the other one to take their last breath, watching them suffer, unable to do anything.

Nathaniel wouldn’t last for hours and as a soldier he had learned to breathe through the pain, but death didn’t differ between soldier or civilian, between good or bad, between man or woman. Death simply took and there was nothing he could do.

“Major… General. Can you…do me a ...favor?”

He nodded, he could do nothing but to stay, so his friend wouldn’t be all alone, waiting for death.

“Tell William… tell him… he’s no soldier… he should never have…to fight.”  
“I will.”

“He’s great at baking. You’ll never taste a… a Schwarzbrot like his… he should…do that.”  
“I’ll tell him.”

“And…could you…tell Maria that I love…her?”

“I will, but I’m sure she already knows.”

They spend minutes together in silence, only interrupted by Jackson’s hard breathing.

“I’m afraid … you’re right, Briareos… In death you’re always… alone.”

He bit his lips, squinting his eyes.

“No, I was wrong. You’re not alone, Nathaniel. I’m with you until the end. I promise. And I promise to bring you home.”  
“That’s…good. Than… thanks.”

Sweat spread over the older man’s face, but he smiled softly.

“You really have changed… my friend. That girl’s good… for you.”

“What girl? Are you talking about Deunan? The fever’s getting the better of you, Jackson.”  
The General laughed, coughing again.

“You know she’s almost ten years younger than me and right now isn’t the right time to talk about stuff like that.”

“You’re wrong… I wanted to… tell you sooner, so now is the last time… I can.” He breathed heavily.

Nathaniel grabbed his arm with all his remaining strength.

“My friend… you never … cared about age… It’s just a number… But Deunan… she’s like you… she understands you… eight years and a half… that’s nothing…I’m almost twice your… age and I still follow you…I know that… you like her… But it’s even easier… to see that… she cares deeply for you.” He coughed again. “Don’t grow old alone… Briareos. Don’t die alone… promise me that!”

“I promise, my friend.”

Never before he felt this tightness in his chest as one lonely tear ran down his cheek. Even his own brother’s death seemed more bearable than this here. He didn’t want to lose his friend.

“It’s okay, young man…” Nathaniel whispered. “I was never…meant to outlive you.”

“But you have a wife, a son, a family. It’s not fair.” He hissed, more tears running down his face.

“Damn it! Why couldn’t you behave like an idiot like you always do? Why did you have to be smart enough to do this? If you had stayed stupid you would have survived!”

The other one laughed. “Even now you chose… to flak me? It’s okay… I’ve protected my country… my family… and you. I’m fine… with dying. But… it’s good I’m not… alone.”

“I’ll stay with you until the end.”

The older man started shivering.

“Briareos…” He whispered. “I’m scared of the silence.”

“Don’t be. I’m with you. Your family loves you and soon the pain will be gone.”

“Could you… say a prayer? So God finds me… in this hell.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to pray. But I’m sure your God will find you, no matter, where you are.”  
“It’s fine…” His voice was growing weaker. “Then tell me… about Eden… How would you … picture it? Talk… for me.”

He thought for a moment, never letting go of the other man’s hand.

After a second he started talking softly. Not stopping, but using all lyric he ever learned to describe this place as beautiful as he could, into every little detail.

His voice grew raspy over the minutes as his friends eyes grew cloudy. At some point he wasn’t sure if Nathaniel was still with him, it would have been easier to slice his throat, but he waited.   
He continued talking as the ribcage rose and sunk more and more harsh, short breathing the only left sign of life.

Slowly the breathing became slower and harder, telling him that the last breath was close.

In the far distance he could hear the sound of the gunship.

And then there was no next breath coming. The ribcage wasn’t rising for another time. He bit his lips but couldn’t stop the tears.

 

 


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 

“BRIAREOS!”

All people present turned around as a battle cry hovered through the training hall.

A small figure rushed from the entry right through the whole room, throwing herself against the tallest person around, the one and only cyborg.

“Hey! Hey! Calm down.” The man of metal laughed and caught the blonde woman before both of them could fall.

She hugged him tightly, like she wanted to press all air out of him.

“I missed you so much!” She claimed.

“I missed you, too. But you weren’t even gone for four days.”

“Five! And each of them felt like an eternity.”  
“Well, someone’s sounding cheesy right now.”

“I have every reason to. Wataru’s horrible. He even tried to take the fire. He tried to take my spot. My! Spot!”

All men turned around and stared at the bioroid, who had just arrived and blushed like he was thrown right into hell.

“You know he can hear you.” Briareos scolded her.

“Yeah! He should!” She yelled and turned to her _temporary_ partner, glaring at him like he was the devil himself. “And just so you know: This here is my real partner! Not you!”

“Deunan, stop it! I assume you haven’t slept enough. You’re harassing your comrades.”

“No. I’m only harassing idiots.”

“And there you go again. Stop it and calm down. Your mission is over now. You fulfilled it. It’s all good.”

She exhaled deeply.

“You’re right, Bri.”  
“I know, I’m always right.”

“Yeah, yeah sure…” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Let’s go and grab something to eat. I’m starving.” He whispered and pulled her close.

“Sounds good to me.”

He threw his sport-bag over his shoulder, and placed his other hand around her hip, ignoring all the looks they were getting.

“So how was your first day back at work?” She asked, putting her arm around his waist as well.

“It was alright I guess. Even I notice more than seven weeks of doing nothing. I feel even heavier than usual.”

“Is that actually possible?” She snickered.

“Keep talking, young lady.” He dared her grinning.

“But it really makes me mad that I couldn’t beat Ries, although he was going easy on me. Usually he’s not match for me.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I know that feeling. But it’s really nice that Ries trains with you while Johnson is off.”

Briareos didn’t answer, so she looked up. “Or not?”

“No, no he’s good…” He said and although he had not much of facial features, she knew exactly that he was hiding something. They had almost reached the parking slot.

“Briareos. What’s the matter?”

He sighed. “Well, it looks like Johnson’s out of work for longer than a few days.”

“So?”

“So…”

Her eyes grew big.

“No!” Her voice was more dangerous than any weapon could be. “Nooo!”

“Deunan, please, calm down.”

“Who decided that?”

“Deunan, let me explain…”

“It was Nike, wasn’t it? First she teams me up with that good-for-nothing Wataru and disappears so I cannot talk with her and now she splits us up?! Over my dead body!”

“Deunan, please wait…”

She was already at her motor bike, thumping her helmet onto her head.

“No! You just wait here. Give me one hour.”

He sighed. “Deunan. Could we please…”

“I won’t let that happen to us. We’re partners. I know you like to follow orders, you’re too nice, Briareos. You’d never tell her that you disagree. So I will put this straight. From tomorrow on I’ll be your trainings partner just like I’m supposed to.”

He reached out for her, but she was already kicking the engine and drove off.

He sighed again deeply. “Guess, I’ll order dinner on my own then.”

 

“Thanks for calling. Where is he?” The blonde asked as he reached the other man.

“Down there.”

“How has he been?”  
“Well, if you ask him, he’d say he’s fine.”  
“But you don’t think so?”  
“He’s mourning, he hasn’t recovered yet.”

“You two know I can hear you, don’t you?”

He looked up. He was down at the drill ground, running what seemed like thousand laps around the ground. He broke down to walking when he was close enough to the other two men and started stretching.

“I’m not mourning. I’m training, idiot!”

“At two o’clock in the morning?” His subordinate asked sarcastically.  
“Days are too busy right now. And what are you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be at home with your man, Aaron? And you should be in bed, Carl. You look horrible.”

“Look, who’s talking.” The blonde murmured, putting more weight on his cane. “Deunan told me you haven’t slept much since you came back.”

“How would she know?”

“She sleeps in the same corridor, hears your door open and close by night and she spends most of her day with you and notices when you’re moody.”

“Even if, it’s not her damn business, or yours for that matter.”

“Uh… Nathaniel would laugh over your cranky voice.”

“And he would tell you to stop molesting your underlings because of your bad mood.”  
“Nathaniel is dead!”  
For a moment they were all silent. So he turned around and started running again.

“Wait, Briareos. Would you please…?” “Major General! Me, you’re Captain orders you to stop right there!”

He bit his lip and clenched his fists, but stopped. Waiting for his superior to come over, hearing every silent clang of his cane.

A bony hand clutched his shoulder.

“It’s been over three months now, Briareos. Maybe you should go and see the counselor again.”  
“I don’t need any psychic guy to tell me what I’m supposed to feel. I’m fine.”

“You’re not. I supervised your work. It’s lacking. You’re only doing average. I haven’t trained you to be average.”

“Even I’m not perfect, Carl. Even I can have bad days.”  
“No, you cannot! You allow yourself to be weak, that’s not what I taught you. You’re excusing yourself with grieving. This is unacceptable.”

“Hey, Carl, maybe you’re too…”

“Would both of you just shut up?!”

He turned around, starring at the other men.

“It was my fault, okay?! I ordered him to go down there! I ordered him to lead the ambush! I ordered him to go to war. He has a child, dammit! And all he wanted for his son was to become baker and now he will never see him grow up! William will never again see the proud face of his father. Because I’ve decided to choose him.”

The blonde sighed.

“Nathaniel was one of us, Briareos. It was no mistake to take him to Mexico, it was the best thing to do. He was a soldier, ready to die for his country, for his family. He did what he needed to do.”  
“Don’t you think I know that?!”

He clenched his fists into his hair, feeling the pain again, the pain that never left his body.

“That’s why it’s my fault. I knew it would happen.”

Both men in front of him were quiet.

“I knew that the only way for us to win this war was by sacrificing the point man. That’s why I put Jackson in charge, because I thought he would be too stupid to notice. If he had been with the others, he would have made sure, they’d all survive and only the point man would have died. But… But…”

He exhaled harshly.

“But he saw it. He saw it and knew that he would die. He chose death because I underestimated his wit. It’s my fault not only Nathaniel, but also Doyle, Captner, Schmitz, and Maou are dead. I should have gone down there and make sure to do it myself or to choose the right pawn.”

It was the first time he said it out loud.

Aaron looked shocked, he hadn’t known, but Carl’s pale face didn’t even falter.

“I know.” He said simply. “But you were the leading operative. It would have been false for you to take the front lead. As leader you have to stay in the back, you’re supervising, organizing. And you did, what was right. You chose the right people for the right job. There was no mistake in any of your decisions. The only thing you couldn’t see was how much Nathaniel had learned. He had become smart enough to see your strategy, but not smart enough to see the greater picture, that’s why he chose to do it himself. This one is not on you, my friend.”

He shook his head.

“This is wrong. All of this is wrong.”

He turned around, but didn’t go away this time. Allowing his friends to stay by his side, for Carl wouldn’t be able to keep up with his pace.

“It’s wrong to sacrifice your own men, it’s wrong to sacrifice your point man just in order… in order to succeed.”

“Sometimes it’s necessary. Some missions are not allowed to fail. And we all agreed to those terms, when we became soldiers.”

“No. Not me.” He whispered. “I never agreed to any of this. I never wanted to become a soldier, a murder weapon. I did it to survive. I came to America because of you. I never wanted to sacrifice men I trust. It’s wrong and it’s wrong that I should make such decisions.”

“Briareos. You’re still grieving. Maybe you should take a week off or two. Go on a trip. Buy the new bike you wanted to have. Do something good for you.” Aaron advised, obviously worried.

He folded his arms. He had made a decision long ago, but now he was ready to face it.

“You’re right, Aaron. I need to do something. I need a change.”

“I agree.” Carl said surprisingly soft. “You’ve been too hard on yourself. You wanted to travel the desert some years ago, sounds like something good to do for the moment, avoiding big cities and so…”  
“I’ve been thinking a lot lately.” He admitted. “About our general strategies for combat, about the way we use our men. The last few years I’ve been supervising a lot, pulling the strings from behind. But do you remember what I always told you about those scouting days?”  
“Yes I do. You hated them. You always preferred to be down there instead of being the observer.” Carl laughed softly, remembering better days.

“Exactly. I don’t belong behind a desk, I belong down there, out there, at the front.”

“Briareos, what are you…?”

“If I had been down there with Nathaniel as my point man, I could have saved him, maybe all of them. Because I know how to back up the point man, because I know how important he is.”

“Briareos, what’s the meaning…?”  
“I met Watson this morning. I’m stepping down.”

“What?!”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you Carl, but I’ve never meant to be a leader, but a follower, a protector. I know you raised me to become the second Carl Knute, but I’m not. I’m no fit for a supervisor, but a wingman. I want to be with my comrades, I want to fight. That’s what I’m good at.”

For another time the two older men shared a glance.

“Are you sure?” Aaron asked, but Carl wasn’t as calm. “What are you talking about? _Never meant to be a leader_?! _No fit for a supervisor?!_ What the hell! You’re a leader right now. Every single person of our unit respects you, despite your age, despite your lack of socialism. Your last mission was doomed to fail, but you succeeded, none could have done that, maybe not even I. And your sacrifice was small compared to the prize we won. Five lives for the lives of several thousands. And you’re such a great leader that Nathaniel was willing to die for you! Don’t you dare dirtying his legacy!”  
“The dice are cast, Carl.” He said almost calm. “I never ever want to sacrifice a life I could have saved, if I would have been down there instead. I will never ever choose my own life over the ones I care for, that’s the legacy I choose to cherish.”  
He turned around and left.

“Sorry to let you down, but maybe I’m just not as good as you thought I was. Maybe I’m your one and only failure.”

“Where are you going Carl?” Smith called out, uncertain who to follow, as both men rushed into opposite directions. He chose the older one, for Briareos seemed more collected and less of a threat at the moment.

“I’ll kill that Bastard of a Chief!”  
“Who? Watson? Why?”  
“How could he accept such a childish reaction? He’s putting one of our best men into the infantry? I will talk some sense into that bullhead.”

“At two o’clock in the morning? Yeah, sounds like a wise decision to me.”

“You can either come along or leave, I don’t care.”  
“Calm down, Carl. This is not the right thing to do.”

Effortless he walked beside his superior, who was breathing harder with every step.

“Wait a second and collect yourself. There’s nothing you can do here anymore. Briareos took his time for this, he thought a lot. Three months brooding isn’t some overreaction. Watson won’t change a thing. If you want to change it, talk with Briareos, but I doubt he will give in. The decision is already made. I’m sorry.”

  
“I’m sorry. But the decision is already made. There’s nothing I can do about it now.”  
The blonde’s face was cool, her voice like ice.

The other blonde threw her fists against the table, her voice filled with heat.

“Like hell! Nike! Why did you do that? Lance said it was temporary, until Briareos was back in the game and now he is and you’re teaming him up with Ries and I have to stick with Wataru. Why?”  
“As I was going to say, before you interru…”  
“Our statistic is great, 100% success. We’re the best team you can have, why would you split us up?”  
The Chief of staff sighed deeply.

“That’s exactly the reason why, Deunan. Together your success-rate is indeed quite impressive, even though it’s almost never without any injuries.”  
Deunan bit her lip.

“But if separated especially your grades drop drastically. You’re difficult with other partners, prefer to act single-handedly even if against orders and show little respect to your comrades. Especially inexperienced operatives can’t hope for your support. Quite the contrary, even in dangerous situation you tend to give them a _lesson_. If separated from Briareos you can be only used best in a solo, but we need you to always be at your best not only if it fits your stomach.”

Her face was hard.

“Briareos on the other hand proves to be an excellent team player, takes care about the newer soldiers and follows orders obedient. Unfortunately he spends more time in hospital than any other ESWAT-member and he’s a Hecatonchires, his body should be superior to any of us.”

Now Deunan looked away, guilt crawling up her spine.

“I want you to understand that this is not supposed to be a punishment. We’re just taking some measures to stop wasting great resources. Both you and Briareos are irreplaceable in our unit. And we cannot risk losing any of you because of some malfunctions. Do you understand?”  
 Slowly she nodded. She hated when Nike was so reasonable.

“So is there any chance I’ll be teamed up with Briareos again at some point?” She asked kind of worried.

“Of course. Like you already said, there are missions only the two of you can lead to success.”

Deunan folded her arms.

“I’m really not happy about this and I bet Briareos thinks the same. You should have talked with us before deciding something like that.”

Now it was Nike, who raised an eyebrow, but there was no sign of surprise in her face.

“Actually Deunan, it was neither Commander Lance nor me who made this decision.”  
Suddenly she felt cold. What did she mean by that? Who else could decide about their team?

“Briareos himself was the one, who asked for new teams.”

No! Why?

“Lance wasn’t too happy about it, but he agreed. I have to admit that I really do support Briareos’ decision.”

She felt hot, she felt cold, and the world was turning. Why would Briareos do that? Why would he do that without even talking to her?

 “And he was also the one, who chose Wataru as your new partner. I offered to reach out for Tereus, who is on a longtime-mission at Poseidon, but Briareos refused. I have no deeper knowledge about his reasoning.”

But she wasn’t listening anymore, spinning around and heading for the exit.

“Deunan!”

She turned around, glaring at the other woman.

“I would like to advise you not to act short-tempered. Maybe it would be best for you to trust Briareos and play along. I am more than certain that he knows what he’s doing.”

“I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.” She hissed in agreement. “But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna play along.”

She rushed outside.

It took her few minutes to drive home, fewer than it should. Definitely not enough time to sort her circling thoughts. Definitely not enough time to calm down for her.

Well, she didn’t need to calm out, she needed answers!

“Briareos!” She yelled as she threw open the front door and rushed in.

No response, the hallway was dark.

“Stop hiding! We need to talk!” She barked and stomped down her way, looking first into bath- and bedroom. He wasn’t there.

In the living-room she found a note at the table. In time of technology it was actually quite sweet he still wrote her notes. But right now, she would have preferred he’d call her, it just wasn’t as much fun to yell at some piece of paper.

_Hey,_

_I’m sorry but Lance called me out. Haven’t done my report for our last MTC yet._

_I’ll call you when I’m on my way back, might be late._

_Food’s in the fridge._

_Love you_

In a moody way she went up to the fridge and pulled out a small doggy box. French. She loved French food, but there was only one good French restaurant in Olympus. He must have driven all the way there just to get it.

She sighed. How could she stay mad at such a man?

Maybe Nike was actually right. She hated to admit that, but maybe Briareos had some good reason and maybe he wanted to talk with her, but had his reasons not to do so.

He would never do something to hurt her, but why did she feel betrayed? Why did it hurt?

She should wait for him so they could talk, a calm, rational talk like two adults.

So she waited in front of the television, eating her reheated great French Cassoulet. She had no cheese and no wine, but she didn’t care. More important was the little piece of mousse au chocolat hidden in the fridge. Briareos really at his best. He even remembered that she preferred the darker version and not the sweet one.

She waited for his call, but time was passing by and at some point she fell asleep.

 

Suddenly she woke up, some heavy breathing at her side, it had to be the middle of the night and she was in their bed, not at the sofa, where she had fallen asleep.

She looked at her side, the cyborg was next to her, obviously sleeping. She must have missed his call. It was unusual for her to not wake up at some noise or at someone picking her up. She must have been awfully tired.

Slowly she turned towards him, reaching for him, touching him. His strange, warm, somewhat humanlike skin. She was still mad at the situation but right now she was grateful for him to be around.

So she curled against him, the only person she could sleep beside.

After another moment his heavy arm held her and she started to relax again.

He was with her. She wasn’t alone.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 

Someone knocked at his door.

“Can I come in?”

He looked up. “Sure.”

The young girl entered and closed the door behind her.

“I just heard it from the Chief.” She said softly. “Are you okay with it?”  
He looked at her. It had taken Watson a whole month to make it official, a whole month where he had to stay in his position, had to discuss his decision over and over again with Carl, a whole month where he had waited for something to calm down. Now he felt calm, finally the pain in his chest was bearable.

“Of course I’m fine. It was my decision.”

She nodded and slumped down at his bed, while he returned reading at his desk.

“You can’t sleep?” She asked.

“No, it’s not even past eleven yet, I still have a lot of work to do.”

“You’re working a lot lately, even after giving up your rank.”

“We all should no matter our position. It’s only a matter of time until we’ll be back in action.”

They were quiet for some time. He was reading and she was sitting on his bed. This wasn’t the first time. When she had started living at the base she had been quite young and he had offered her to come in whenever she wanted. There had been nights, when she’d fallen asleep on his bed, but he never minded it, taking the nightshift to read or work.

They never actually talked a lot, for he was busy all the time, but he had begun to like her presence.

“So, do you know who’ll replace you?” She asked.

“I suggested Aaron. He’s smart and skillful. And he’s one of few men I would take orders from.”

“But you don’t actually know, if the Chief goes along?”  
“Well, it appears somebody else proposed Hades.”  
“What? He isn’t even General yet and he’s young!”  
“So are we, Deunan.”

“But I’m just here because of my father and you’re you!”  
“What kind of reasoning is this?”

She sighed.

“I really don’t like that you’re stepping down. You’re doing a great job and I…”  
“Stop babbling.” He ordered softly. “I’m treating you differently than I should. A leading operative shouldn’t have a fave.”

“Oh so I really am your favorite?” She laughed.

He turned around, raising an eyebrow.

“I treat you to dinner and I train with you almost every day. I even got you a birthday present last year. Would never do that to Hades or one of the others.”

She laughed even louder, blushing slightly and he couldn’t help but smile. It was such a nice feeling to see her happy. He never wanted to see her cry again.

Suddenly her laughter paused and she stared at him expressionless.

“What is it? Something’s wrong?”  
She shook her head.

“You’re smiling. It’s the first time I see you smiling since that day.”

He looked away.

“I’m sorry, that was thoughtless. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” She mumbled immediately.

“No… No it’s fine. I…I’m sorry. It must have been difficult for you to deal with me the past months. Carl already told me that I wasn’t doing well at my job.”  
She leaned forward, reaching for his hands on his knees.

“No. No, don’t be sorry. It’s fine. Death is never easy on the one left behind. Believe me, I understand you. I…” She sighed. “I just wish somehow that you would let me in.”

He looked at her confused.

“I mean, we’re friends for such a long time now and you’re important to me. I want to help you. I want to be there for you, when you need me. Just like you were, when mum died.”  
Surprised he opened his mouth.

“You remember?”

She tilted her head.

“Of course. You picked me up at the police departure with your Davina. You were so young at that time, but in your arms I felt safe and secure, even though mum had just died.”

She took his hand in hers.

“Please, Briareos. You’re not my superior anymore, so please leave the business aside and just rely on me for this one time. I’m older then you were then, I can shoulder some of your burden.”

He looked at their entangled hands and then up, seeing her big, green eyes, filled with light, filled with life.

“You have become such a strong and wise woman, Deunan. Sometimes I forget that you aren’t the little child I picked up in her cute, white dress anymore.”

She smiled.

“Talk to me. I’ll listen. Tell me all those things you never told anybody. They’re safe with me.”

For a moment he waited, still watching her eyes, hesitating.

“I don’t want to talk.” He said searching for the right words, seeing her eyes fill with surprise and hurt.

“Oh…” She started to pull her hand back “Oh… sorry, I didn’t mean… Of course you’re…”  
“But the silence burdens me much lately.” He continued, ignoring her unfocused babbling. “It’s hard for me to fall asleep, only hearing my own breath.”

He held on to her hand.

“Would you mind staying a little while longer and filling the silence for me?”

For a moment they shared something deeper than a glance and then she started smiling again.

“Sure. I’d love to do that.”

 

When she woke up, Briareos was gone.

At the table she found another note.

_Hey,_

_I’m sorry, I wanted to wake you, but you were sleeping so peacefully._

_Athena called me. Not sure for what reason._

_Call me, when you’re up._

_Love you_

She sighed for another time. Her anger was still lingering under the surface, but she couldn’t be really mad at him, could she?

After eating a quick breakfast she searched her phone and dialed his number.

It took surprisingly long for him to pick up, given that his damn phone was part of his stupid computer brain.

“Deunan, hey.” He sounded tired. She wondered if he had been sleeping enough. He was still not at his best, after all. And yesterday he had returned quite late and left really early again.

“Hi.” She answered. “Are you okay? What’s with Athena?”

She could hear him yawn, which was one of the funniest noises coming from a cyborg. “No, I’m fine. Just a little lack of sleep.”

“So what about Athena?”

“What’s with Athena? Oh yeah… right.”

What was that supposed to mean?  How would she know?

“I have to stay at Gaia for some tests. They try to do another experiment like the Hecatonchires-line and as I’m the only one…”  
He didn’t finish his sentence.

“So you’re not coming to work today?”

She could almost hear his headshaking.

“No. I’m sorry. You have to keep up with Wataru.”

“Oh yes, about that. I really need to…” “I’m sorry Deunan. But I have to go. We talk later again, okay?”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “Yeah, fine.”

“Please, don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry for letting you sleep, okay?”  
“Yes. Just go and do your job.”

She hung up.

He was saying sorry damn often the last few days. Something was definitely off, but she didn’t know what.

At work she used her first free moment to sneak up at the Commander’s office, after she kicked some other soldiers’ asses during practice.

“Deunan?” Lance said more or less surprised, but definitely not happy. “How can I help you?”

“I talked with Nike, yesterday.” She explained.

“Ah. I see. So you know this isn’t my doing.” He grinned, obviously feeling relieved. She knew that nobody liked to be her target of anger.

“Why did you agree to this? What reasons did Briareos have?”

He looked at her.

“Deunan. I agreed to this, because it’s a good chance for both of you to evolve. But for everything else you should talk with your partner. I’m in no position to justify his thoughts.”  
“You’re the Commander. You’re the one in charge. You could have said no!”  
“After Briareos himself asked me to switch teams and Nike approved his demand? Please stay rational.”

“You know something, don’t you?” She hissed. “He’s up to something. He would never do this without talking to me first.”

“Even if, Deunan.” Lance replied calm. “He’s the one you need to talk to.”

She folded her arms, unsatisfied.

“And now if you would please excuse me. I have only twenty minutes of lunch break and I’d like to spend them eating something, not discussing already made decisions. Talk to Briareos, take your private stuff home.”

He dismissed her.

But his last words had shocked her.

_Private stuff_ ?  
What private stuff would they need to discuss? Was there anything she should worry about?

Why? Was something wrong in their relationship? Did she do something wrong? Or even worse, did he do something he regretted and needed to talk with her about?!

What had happened during those few days she had been gone?

What part of the puzzle was she missing?

In worry she spent the rest of the day, training, fighting. But her thoughts were with the cyborg.

After work she tried to call him again but he didn’t pick up. She didn’t like this.

When she returned home, he wasn’t there.

She tried to call him again, no answer. After half an hour worrying about thoughts she didn’t want to have she made a decision to act instead of react.

Just as she was about to drive over he called.

“Hey. Where are you?” She asked too quickly and left the greetings aside.

“Hey. I’m sorry. I’m still at Gaia. I don’t know how long it will take. They have connected me with some kind of machine.”

“So when will you come home?” She asked. “We really need to talk!”  
“I know, Deunan, I know. Look I’m sorry but I don’t think this will be over soon.”

“Are you trying to tell me you’ll stay overnight?”  
He sighed. That was enough of an answer.

“I’m sorry.”

Again!  
She shook her head, trying to stay calm.

“No, no it’s fine. They asked for your help, it’s your job. It’s okay. We can talk tomorrow. You’re coming to work tomorrow, aren’t you?”

She could hear a breath of relieve.

“Yes. Yes, I’m at work tomorrow, maybe somewhat later, but I promise I will be there and then we can talk.”

She nodded to herself.

“Okay. That’s good. So… just do your job and… and if you need anything you can call me. And tomorrow we talk in person with each other.”  
“Yes, we will. Thank you, Deunan.”

“Nah. It’s fine.” She tried to laugh it off, but her voice was cracking.

“Deunan?” His voice was filled with worry.

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

She hung up, her voice breaking. Why did she feel like she was about to lose him?

Why did it hurt so much?

What was he hiding?

A silent tear ran down her cheek.

She felt so lost, so alone, so sad. How she wished for him to come home right now.

She felt so helpless without him.

 

“Briareos. What’s with that? Where are we going?”  
“Don’t you dare opening your eyes. We’re almost there.”

He held one hand in front of her eyes, leading her down the street.

She laughed lightly. “If I fall, because you don’t warn me about stairs, I swear you’ll pay for it.”

“We’re at the parking lot, ain’t no stairs anywhere.”

They stopped.

“Can I open them now?” She asked in fake annoyance.

“Just one sec’.” He murmured and turned her around.

“Now you can.”

She gasped for air.

“Is that your Davina?” She asked stunned.

“Jop. The guy at the garage fixed all about her and said she can last for another five years without any problems. But he laughed quite a lot about her new color.”

“But you wanted to sell her to pay your new one.”

“Nah. It’s good like this. I know all your money goes into hospital bills.”

“She’s for me?”

“Do you really think I would drive a bike in dark fuchsia?”

“Seriously?! That’s my favorite color!”

“Yes, I know. Happy Birthday!”

He laughed as he saw her big, green eyes, almost filled with tears as she made another step towards the revised motor bike.

“She’s mine?” She whispered. “You give me your Davina?”  
He laughed again. “Yeah, sure. You know I got a new one and you made your license last year. I thought…”

“Thank you!”

She rushed towards him, slamming her arms around his neck and hugging him. A silent tear of joy running down her cheek. He felt so happy when he embraced her, both of them laughing.

He could feel her hand at his shoulder, the beat of her heart at his chest, the other hand at the back of his head and suddenly her lips were against his.

For a moment he was so astonished he didn’t do anything, feeling her body against his own, feeling her touch, sensing her heat.

He stumbled backwards.

Surprised she let go of him, her face mirroring his shocked expression. They just stared at each other, heartbeats loud like thunder.

Her lips quivered, her eyes became glassy.

“Oh gosh… I’m… I’m… sorry.” She mumbled. “I… I didn’t mean to, it… just happened.”

And then she spun around and ran away.

It took him more than a heartbeat to realize what just had happened, but his feet were already rushing after her.

“Deunan.” He yelled, his longer legs allowing him to catch up with her.  “Just wait a second.”

He grabbed her arm, she didn’t fight it, but looked away, and he could see the sign of tears under the shadow of her fringe.

For a moment they just stood there, she obviously crying and he had no idea what was going on, so finally he said the first words coming to his frozen mind.

“Do you want to blitz me? You cannot kiss a man and run away. This is no war.” He stated cold in his lecturing voice.  
She mumbled something under her shaking breath.

“What? Speak up, soldier.”  
“I’m sorry!” She almost barked with her breaking voice.

Okay, this was apparently not getting him anywhere; she tried to cease her tears, but failed.

“You should be.” He said softer that before. “I mean what did you expect, kissing me and then running off? Not giving me one second to understand anything.”  
“I didn’t mean to.” She hissed at the ground beneath her feet.

“What did you not mean to do? Running away or kissing me?”

She looked up, her large eyes even wider than usual.

“I love you.” She whispered. “And I know I shouldn’t. You don’t feel that way. I’m just your little sister. I know my father treats you like a son.” Tears started running again. “I tried to behave the way I should, but I don’t want to be just your sister anymore and now I ruined it all. I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t know what to say. He had always cherished her straight forward honesty, now it shocked him.

_Once the time comes and I’m gone, can you stay with her? Can you be her family and take care of her, protect her? Can I even dare to ask you to give your life for her?_

Carl had asked him that so long ago. Asked him to stay by her side, to be her family.

_That girl’s really important to you._

_I know that you like her. But it’s even easier to see that she cares deeply for you._

Nathaniel’s voice clouded his mind.

_Don’t grow old alone, Briareos. Don’t die alone, promise me._

He sighed deeply, making her look up. She was afraid, afraid of losing him and destroying their friendship for good, he could see it in her eyes.

“Your father asked me to guard you as a friend, to treat you like family.” He said after a while, searching for the right words to say. All his life he had trained and steeled his body, read and studied everything he could to brighten his mind, but nothing could prepare a man for this. How could he ever place those emotions he was feeling in those plane words?

She nodded, trying to smile, failing.

“But I never said I wanted to be your brother.”

Her cracked smile was fading, but now he was the one looking to the ground, not sure how to say what he meant.

“Siblings die. Friends die. Family dies. They all leave you behind after some time. And _some time_ is not enough for me. I don’t want to be left behind anymore.”  
He met her view.

“I don’t think only being your brother could be enough for me. I want something stronger, something that ensures me that you won’t leave me behind as well. I think I cannot settle for anything less.”

She wasn’t crying anymore, her face was serious, like she was seeing him for the first time, like she really understood him, slowly she reached for his hand and whispered.

“I think I cannot fall for anything less.”


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 

It was the strangest feeling to be here this morning. It was her usual training spot, her usual routine, her usual daily life. Only two things were different. One of it was her training partner. Wataru was kneeling on all fours, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down like rain.

“You’re really going into it today.” He muttered, his voice ever so friendly, even though it was hoarse and breaking. “Not giving me any break to catch some breath.” He slowly stood up.

“In real combat you get ain’t no breaks, Wataru, so get back up.” She ordered coolly. She needed to run off some of her steam. Her not completely perfect ribs were still aching, but she appreciated the little sting, the little burn, telling her there was still place for her to grow, but it couldn’t cover the other pain she was feeling.

And that was the second thing different than usual. It wasn’t her first fight with Briareos. No, they did have some really bad things. And usually those disputes gave her strength, power, and fire. Made her almost invincible, but now she felt weak. 

And she kind of knew what the problem was. They weren’t really fighting or settling some quarrel. There was no quarrel to settle. There was nothing. They hadn’t had one minute alone since she came back from her mission. She had left him to drive to Nike and when she had come back he had been gone for some tests. The next morning he had been gone again and now he didn’t show up for work.

She wasn’t happy about any of this while she beat the hell out of her _temporary_ partner.

It wasn’t like something was actually wrong, it wasn’t like anything bad had happened, so why did she feel like there was something they needed to talk about? Why did she feel so mad at Briareos for his actions, yet felt so worried about him at the same time?

Okay, so he chose Wataru as her _temporary_ partner while he was off work. No big deal, right? He knew her best, he certainly had a reason to team her up with a good-for-nothing idiot.

And now that he was back he decided to keep their original team split up, to team up with Ries while she was stuck with Wataru. He would never do anything that wouldn’t be in her favor. She trusted him. Trusted him probably more than her own judgment.

The real thing was that he didn’t tell her about his idea. If he had told her about his strategy beforehand she would have told him that she wasn’t agreeing or wasn’t too happy about this plan. They would have had a heated discussion, including some yelling and maybe even some flying fists. It would have been short, it would have been settled by the next morning, with one of them giving in. If his reasoning was good maybe the one giving in would have even been her. Maybe she would have accepted it, maybe she would have even played along. It wasn’t like she wanted to be against his will. She just wanted to understand it. And she felt betrayed because he hadn’t said one single word to her.

But Briareos wasn’t here for the moment, so it was Wataru who had to pay.

Wataru was weak in her eyes, he was slow and soft. His movements were sluggish and his actions were easy to predict. He was no match for her by any means. She had to be careful not to seriously hurt him by accident. She wondered for another time why he was in her unit, when he was nothing a good soldier was supposed to be.

She didn’t compare him to Briareos – because she would never compare a bath tub to the great ocean – but she drew the line to Tereus, who had been not as good as Briareos, but always giving his best. Wataru on the other hand seemed to be doing this because he had no other choice.

“Say…” She started, while he kneeled on the floor again. “Who asked you to team up with me and what did you think about it?”

“Excuse me?” He asked in his polite voice, slowly getting up again, whipping the sweat away.

“Who was your previous partner?”

He tilted his head slightly. “I’m sorry Deunan, but I don’t understand the question, you’re my first one. I entered the ESWAT about two months ago, so when Commander Lance told me you would be my partner I felt honored. I mean, you’re one of the best sold…”  
“Yeah,yeah, save your waffling.”

She attacked him again, he dodged, breathing heavily.

Damn it! She had forgotten that those bioroids looked older than they actually were. Wataru for sure looked like he could be her age, but just like Tereus was when she had met him, her _temporary_ partner had been _born_ maybe not even a year ago. When they had been teamed up, he had been in practice for less than a week, no surprise he was no good. The introduction phase for bioroids was about three months if she wasn’t mistaken, they had only about three months before they had to join the forces, only three months to train, only three months to reach a level most humans needed several years for.

Actually, keeping that in mind, he was freaking good. He never had seemed like a total beginner to her, just like someone who sucked at his job. Maybe she had been a little bit too tough on him.

“Let’s call it a day.” She murmured, placing a hand at her itching side.

“Are you okay?” To hear this voice filled with so much worry was hard to cope, but she ignored her Goosebumps.

“Sure. You did well. We should leave it like that.”

His distressed face lightened up. She was well aware that these were her first positive words towards him. She dismissed herself and headed for the showers, covered in sweat.

She remembered her first years of training, how her father had scolded her, yelled at her, steeled her. She had always tried to do her best, but had always felt like she was a huge failure to her father. During those miserable teaching sessions she had felt horrible, beginning to hate it, beginning to hate herself, because she was not as good as her father wanted her to be.

And then suddenly her life had changed when she had met Briareos. He had been strict, expected a lot and never went easy on her. But he had also been fair, honest and reliable.

She remembered those afternoons, when they had laid side by side at the drill ground, trying not to drown in their own sweat, breathing heavily and grinning like fools. Briareos always had a word of encourage for her, had always known what to say, even when she was not at her best, even when she failed at something. Compared to her father’s way, working with Briareos had been fun and she had noticed that will and success was a better spur than fear and failure could ever be.

Noting that Wataru wasn’t even in ESWAT-training for two whole months she had to admit that he was talented, maybe more talented than most of her comrades and as being his first official partner it was her duty to help him grow not to keep him small. She of all should know how important this was.

While the cold water caressed her body she wondered if Briareos had been aware of this, if this had been his objective, if this had been his goal or if it was nothing more than a side effect, a coincidence.

She bit her cheek. He was supposed to be at work today, but it was already past four and he hadn’t shown up yet. He knew where she would be training and he knew how badly she needed to talk with him. It worried her more than she would like to.

As usual the dressing room was empty. They were only few women in this unit, most of them working at different times, it was more than seldom to run across another female soldier. Which wasn’t the worst thing to happen. Deunan had realized early in her life that women were more tiring than men. It was difficult for her to get along with other females, Hitomi being one of few exceptions, Nike being the perfect example. Maybe it was because she spent most of her time with men, maybe because women were simply exhausting. She never thought of herself as an exception, just for the record.

She felt tired, her head had been running circles since the last morning and her body had its deserved workout, if Briareos were with her everything would be fine, but that was the actual problem.

With a sigh she ruffled through her hair and looked at the mirror. At least she looked good to go.

Just in that moment she could hear the multiple men laughter from their changing room on the other side of the wall. She recognized the darkest one within the slightest second.

_Briareos!_

She rushed over and slammed the door open.

Approximately twelve men were starring at her, all of them more or less naked, some with a towel around their hips, some already fully clothed. The cyborg stood in their middle, at his typical changing spot. He was wearing only his pants and had a towel placed around his neck.

“Oh, come on, Deunan.”

“Not again, Knute.”

“Welcome back. Haven’t seen you for some time.”

“You know this is sexual harassment, don’t you?”

“What’s your woman doing here, pal?”

Most of the men mumbled something in an unhappy voice. This wasn’t her first time to rush into their dressing room, she actually had used their showers several times already, but even the ever so calm Briareos could become jealous and so she tried to use the women’s one. But that didn’t mean she stopped showing up, especially if Briareos was taking his sweet time again.

Now he just stared at her, for once his Hecatonchires’ face unreadable for her.

“Could you at least close the door?” Someone muttered as the fresh air of the corridor streamed inside.

“You’re here.” She said, ignoring all other men, noting his freshly showered body, noting the sweat-drained clothes he was holding. “You were here training the whole day, while I was waiting for you.”

Multiple pairs of eyes rushed from her to Briareos and back, some of them tried to avoid staring, but they were like an accident, impossible to ignore. Who believed men didn’t like some good drama story, was wrong. They did, just as long as it wasn’t their own.

“Deunan.” Briareos said, his dark voice in business mode. “Let’s talk outside.”

The cyborg grabbed his stuff and came towards her. Some men sighed, partly because of relief, partly because of disappointment.

She looked at him, as he got closer. Tried to figure out what to feel or what to think.

She was mad, she felt betrayed. She had been worried the whole time, while he had been laughing and training with his buddies, not even taking the time to just tell her that he was back at work, not even taking the ten seconds it took him to call or to write her a message. There was nothing to sugarcoat.

But as she followed him back outside, leaving the door open by accident, she noticed his movements were heavier than usually, like that time when his battery hadn’t been working right. He seemed tired and although she wanted to clash his head against the next best wall, she was worried even more.

They walked up to the lockers, hers next to his, and started to take out their stuff and putting other stuff in.

“So?” She said after another moment of silence.  
“So.” He answered in his dark, pensive voice. “You wanted to talk.” He closed his locker and looked down at her. Yes, he definitely looked exhausted.

“I wanna know what’s going on.” She said clear, trying to stay calm.

“I don’t know what you…” “Oh stop that!” So much for staying calm. “I know that you chose Wataru as my _temporary_ partner. I talked with Lance and Nike, both told me to discuss that with you.”  
“Deunan, I…” “And what’s that with Athena and those tests they needed you for?”

“That’s what I’m trying…” “You haven’t fully recovered yet, they shouldn’t ask you for such things if it’s draining you so much. I really don’t know what’s going on.”

“Deunan!” His voice was louder than before. “If you’re interrupting me all the time I cannot answer any of your questions!” His voice even grew louder. He seemed to be in an awfully bad mood. Quite dangerous to anger a man like him. But to hell with that, her mood wasn’t much better and she knew that she could keep up with him effortless.

“You wouldn’t need to answer any questions, if you’d told me before!”

“Told you what?!”  
“Oh come one! I know that you’re the one, who decided to split us up. Not Nike. Why didn’t you tell me before? Why did you do this?!”

“I’ve tried to tell you when you came back, but you were too busy chasing Nike instead of listening to me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before I left for the mission? Why didn’t you tell me, you chose Wataru?!”

“Deunan, you know I would never do anything to harm you…”  
“That’s not the point, Briareos!”

“Then why are you yelling at me?”  
“What are you keeping from me?!”  
They stared at each other, both breathing harsh, she noted his surprise, if it wasn’t more.

He sighed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, don’t play dumb. I ain’t stupid, you know?! All those tests with Athena. The long hospital stay. Splitting up our team and now you’re here without telling me. What is it? Are you breaking up with me?”

“What?!”

“Well, that’s the only thing that would make sense to me. Why else would you behave this way?”  
“Argh Deunan!” He turned away from her, letting go of his sports bag and putting both of his hands against the lockers, shaking his head, before turning around.

“I would never ever ever break up with you, okay?” His voice was much calmer, almost sad. “I’d never thought you’d trust me so little.”

Well, that hurt deeply. But he seemed hurt as well. Something was about to break.

“Then why?” She asked softer now, trying to keep the balance they were reaching.

“Can’t you just take it as it is?” He asked. “I stayed in hospital because I was badly damaged, my brain was a total mess, leave alone the body and all I did were some biochemical tests, nothing important, for that matter. When I returned to work this morning Lance called me over and I simply forgot to call you. That’s all there is to it, really.”

He placed a hand against a locker again, obviously tired.

“So what about the split up?” She asked. “Why did you decide to team me up with a newcomer?”  
“Because I was still in hospital.”  
“Not true!” Her emotions were building up again. “If so, why did you team up with Ries. You’re fine now, shouldn’t we team up again? Or is there any reason for me to be stuck with Wataru?”  
“Deunan.” He said, tried to stay calm. “It isn’t that easy, if you cannot see it on your own. You should be able to...”  
“Stop sounding like my father! You’re not him.”  
“And I never tried to be. But you’re unreasonable here. You know that I’d always do what’s best for you. So all I’m asking…” “All I’m asking of you is to stop sounding like you’re a freaking copy of my father. Sometimes I wonder if they really put your brain into this thing or if you’re not more than a damn computer with my father’s notes!”

He simply stared at her, not saying anything. But she bit her cheek, she knew she was going too far here, but damn it, why was he behaving that way.

“You have changed, Briareos.” She hissed. “Sometimes it’s hard to recognize the man I wanted to marry with all that metal on you!”

He made a step back, looking at her and then he turned around.

“You need to be able to fight well along with others, Deunan.” He said, his voice colder then she could ever imagine. “You need to be able to protect yourself if they cannot. What would you do if I’m not around anymore? Maybe I cannot protect you forever.”

He picked up his sports-bag and threw it over his shoulder.

“Is that all you got to say?!” She yelled, stepping forward. “Is that all you care about? My fighting skills?! Maybe you are right. Maybe I have been wrong about you all along. Maybe you are Carl Knute 2.0. The better version, stronger body, stronger will. Faceless, emotionless. He would be so proud of the _man_ you have become.”

She couldn’t stop her words, said in anger and in pain.

She saw how he wanted to say something, turning halfway towards her.

But then he shook his head and went away.

“Wataru is a good man, he’ll be a great partner if you treat him right.”

“Don’t just run away from me! We’re not done yet! This discussion isn’t over!”  
But he didn’t even stop, passing through the door and closing it behind.

“Okay, go then!” She yelled. “But don’t think you need to come back! I can survive without you, been there, done that. I’m just fine without you!”

The door fell shut.

“ **Fucking damn it!!!** ” She screamed and hit her locker with all her force. The metal door cracked and cried open.

With slow steps she went back to the women changing room to fetch her clothes, but as she kneeled on the ground to reach out for some fallen bracelet, she couldn’t keep her tears in, and so she cried. Kneeling on the floor. She never wanted to say those words, but why, why was he lying to her? Why was he staying so cold when she was all fired up?

She wanted him to be loud, to be emotional, like all the fights they used to have. But not like this, not like this cold, rational man he slowly turned to be. He had become more like her father, a man she loved and hated at the same time, cold, rational, objective. Was it because of his body or was it because of his mind?

Why was he doing this, why was he keeping her out of his emotions? Out of his mind? Why was he leaving her behind?

It felt like her world broke apart.

 

“Come in.”

He opened the door and went in.

“Oh, Briareos, good to see you. I was actually already expecting you. Come over, sit down.”

He smiled softly. “You’re looking good, Carl. I’m glad the treatment shows some effect.”  
“Thanks for nothing, little Prince Charming.” The blonde grinned with a raised eyebrow.

He wasn’t looking good, he was pale, scraggy and weak. Nothing compared to the man he once had been, the man he had saved twenty years ago, the man he had followed twenty years ago. But he looked better than before, not as close to death as before.

He sat down, waiting for Carl to turn his television off and to put the tablet aside.

“I heard the news.” The older one sighed. “What do you think about it?”  
He shrugged his shoulders.

“As long as Watson doesn’t say anything nothing will change for us.”

“You’re not telling me, the Chief isn’t going to do anything?”

“Carl, even if, I wouldn’t tell you. You cannot recover if you shoulder the world’s burden.”

“Look who’s talking. But that means you’re not leaving for Africa?”  
“Not yet at least.”

They were silent for a moment.

“Those flowers are from Aaron, aren’t they?”  
“And Alexander. They were here together. Those are orchids.” The older one corrected.

“Look pretty.”

“You really have no clue about flowers, do you?”

“Carl. I’m here to talk with you about something important, something you might not approve.”

The blonde looked up, his clear eyes meeting his view serious.

“I know, I was expecting you.”  
He couldn’t help a grin. He would never beat Carl at things like that.

“So my dear friend, salve your conscience and speak up.”  
He looked at his friend for he knew it was a sign of weakness to look away, but his hands were entangled with each other, sweating, this situation felt more dangerous than any situation in his life before, after all this was Carl, sick and weak maybe, but nevertheless, Carl Knute.

“Oh, don’t look so frightened, whatever it is, I’m not going to kill you.”  
“Don’t promise what you can’t keep, I know exactly what you keep hidden in that drawer.”

He pointed at the little drawer next to the blonde’s bed.

He sighed.

“Okay, I’m really not good in this.”

“Just tell me.”

“You remember what I promised you about Deunan?”  
“Of course and I’m counting on you, we both know that I won’t live forever.”

He couldn’t even grin, while Carl laughed softly.

“Well, I’m not saying I want to break it, but things kind of changed.”  
“What do you mean by that?”  
The blonde’s pale face was deadly serious now.

“I know your daughter is still underage and I know she’ll need someone when you’re gone, but I can’t be her family anymore.”  
“Why is that?” Carl asked ever so cold.

“Because she asked me for more and it would honor me to stay by her side as her man.”  
“What?! This is…”

“I’m serious, Carl. I know you won’t be happy about it. And if you wanna kill me, go ahead. But just so you know. This is on you, you planed all of this, you teamed me up with her, you made sure I grew attached to her, so don’t…”  
“Stop it, Briareos!” Carl was laughing, trying to catch his breath, scrunching his blanket with his fists, coughing in between.

“This is not funny, Knute!”

“Oh it is, very funny.” He continued laughing.

“You don’t take me serious. You think this is a joke. It’s not. Now get mad and scream at me, like the overprotective father you are!”

The blonde laughed on. “I will not kill you, Briareos, relax.”

Then he caught his breath, leaning against the huge white pillow in his back.

“You knew?” He asked perplex.

“Everybody knew! The only idiot not noticing it was you! Even Nathaniel was aware of that and we both know that he wasn’t the darkest cup of coffee. I mean, she tried to cook for you, what more evidence do you need?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Gilliam cooked for you every day and she…oh.”

 “Are you getting it now? Aaron told me that Deunan asked him for advice about how to break it to you, so we all knew.”

“And you’re okay with it? You let her go asking a grown man something like that? I could have broken her heart?”  
“Oh, please. You would bleach yourself white for her. You even gave her your Davina, I wasn’t even allowed to drive her that one time, my Jeep broke down, remember? And you colored her in Deunan’s favorite color. I mean, that’s the greatest sign of love a man can show.”  
“You American guys have strange ways of predicting something like that.”

“Like you aren’t one of us by now.”

They were silent for a second.

“So Aaron gave her advices how to talk to me about it?”

“Sure. We all knew she would be the one to make the first step. If it comes to things like that you’re more stupid than Jackson could ever be.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Well, he didn’t even need a month to find the girl of his dreams, and you had almost seventeen years with Deunan and still thought she was nothing more that your little protégée.”  
“You know you’re talking about your own daughter, right?”

“In things like that she’s more grown up than you are, so none of us were surprised when she asked Aaron.”  
“But his advice sucked. She started crying and all that stuff.”

“You made her cry?!”

“It wasn’t my fault, dammit! She blitzed me and ran off. It felt more like an attack than a confession and actually I don’t need to justify myself.”

Carl laughed again.

“Sometimes I wonder how far your plan goes.” He asked his oldest friend.

“What do you mean? That I planned over twenty years ago to get abducted by some warlord, so his child-soldier would kill him in order to save me, so he would fall in love with the daughter I would get years later and take care of her when I’ll died of cancer? Yes sure, Briareos. My brilliant brain of a superior human was able to see the great future of us all.”

“And sometimes I forget what an idiot you are.”

“So Briareos tell me.”

He looked up.

“Tell me, are you happy?”

“Yes, I am.”


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 

He woke up, some sound had ripped him out of dreamland.

The doorbell!

Something must have happened. What could have happened? Who would come to his place this late without calling first? What did happen?

He stumbled out of bed into the floor and down to the entry, trying to pull a shirt over his bare chest.

Confused Yoshitsune opened the door, it was already quite late. Forget the quite late, it was in the middle of the night.

“Hey.” The newcomer greeted him.

“Hey? All okay?” The tension still lingered within him. What did happen?

“Can I crash at yours tonight?” The cyborg sounded tired, defeated, hoarse.

“Uhm… sure, come in.” Although this certainly was an emergency it was luckily not one of those he had expected. He let the other man inside inside.  Slowly he calmed down.

“Do you need anything, I can order some pizza if you want to.”

“No, no, I’m fine. Just need some place to sleep.”

The older man passed him in sluggish movements, making his way towards the sofa and taking his huge boots off.  
“Are you okay?”  
“Do you know what the worst thing is of being a Hecatonchires?”  
“Tell me.”

“You can’t get drunk. The system notices when there’s too much alcohol and extracts it before it reaches the stomach.”

The man of metal put his heavy jacket off.

“Got a fight with Deunan?”

“What’d make you think that?”

“The only thing able to bother you that much would be her.”  
“Yeah, we got something like a fight.”  
“ _Something like_?”

“Sorry, but I don’t wanna talk about it. Thanks for letting me sleep here.”

“Sure, no problem. But just so I know, does she know?”  
“No. She doesn’t and she won’t.”

“Okay, okay. Noted.”

“Thanks and good night.”  
“Good night, Briareos, if you need anything, feel at home and take it. See you tomorrow.”  
“Yeah, yeah.”

He shrugged his shoulders and went back into his bedroom, the other one was clearly not in the mood to talk. Not that he actually was, he had only few hours left to sleep before he would have to get up for work again.  
But he was lying in his bed wide awake, wondering how Briareos would even fit on the sofa and wondering what had happened.

He had expected some kind of disaster sooner or later. Deunan was a strong minded, smart woman. She would notice if something was odd, and she wouldn’t back off until she knew what it was. Usually Briareos would give in, both of them weren’t used for him to keep his stand against her.

He wondered why the cyborg wasn’t simply telling her the truth, he could need her support, her help, but maybe this was something he needed to do on his own.   
Men could be strange, sometimes.

The next morning he woke up, already forgotten about the late guest of the last night. In nothing more but shorts he made his way to the kitchen, still half asleep, putting the coffee on.

Just then he remembered the other man in his apartment, but to his surprise the other one was gone, blankets neatly folded, no sign of him left.

Maybe it had been a dream…

 

“I’m so excited!”

“This is no school trip, Deunan, it’s a march order.”  
“I know, I know! It’s my first one! All those years of training and working and now it finally pays off.”  
“It pays off if you stay alive.”

She bit the inside of her cheek.

“Oh, don’t be so grumpy, it’ll be fun, we will spend a whole flight together.”

He shook his head. “That’s what I like about you, Miss Brightside, even in war you see something to look forward to.”

She pulled him close and kissed him. “There is only light, when you’re around.” She whispered.

“Uhh, that sounds really kitschy, not Shakespear for sure.”

“No, I think Meyer.”

“Have never heard about him.”  
“It’s a she and not your kind of literature.”

He allowed her to strike back his hair, touching his cheek, she looked so beautiful and happy.

“What did I do to deserve someone like you?”  
She laughed. “Who’s sounding cheesy now? Who is this? Mann? You kind of read all his books.”  
“No, not Mann, simply your man.”

He kissed her back.

“You want to come along?”

“To the hospital? No, you go ahead without me.”

“You don’t want to say goodbye to your father?”

“I’ll call him while you drive over, that’s the best for all of us.”

“Well, if you think so. I won’t force you.”

So he went alone. Waiting some minutes in front of the door while the doctors were still inside, before he was allowed to enter.

Carl was looking like always, pale, weak, but alive, but fighting. He planned on returning to work within the next two months, but Briareos doubted that.

“Hey.” He greeted him, going inside and sitting down at his chair. “How are you doing?”  
“Just the same as always, my friend. How about you? I heard you’ll be leaving for Africa tomorrow.”  
“Oh, you already know?”

“Sure, it’s not like Deunan and I aren’t talking at all.”

He grinned. “Your relationship is really strange.”

“Indeed my friend. But I’m glad you came over before you leave. I have something to talk with you about.”  
“I know. I’m here for the same reason.”  
They looked at each other approving.

“So age before beauty, go ahead Carl.”

The other man laughed. “No, it’s okay. You go first, beauty.”

He sighed for another time.

“Oh, so it’s something important again, according to your face.” The older man laughed.

“Of course, it’s something important. I’m leaving for action tomorrow. Who knows if I ever come back.”

“Uuh, someone’s really pessimistic today.”  
“Oh, just shut it, staying here in your comfy, white bed.”

“Well, you’re right, this might be the last time. After the war one of us or even both might be gone.”  
“So, who’s pessimistic now?”  
“What do you want to say, my friend.”  
“You know Deunan is ordered in as well, don’t you?”  
“Sure, she told me about it in her most excited mood. Couldn’t be prouder of her.”  
“Yeah, you should tell her not me.” He mumbled. “So I asked Watson to team us up together.”  
“Not that this was really something to discuss, for you the only real partner she ever had.”  
“Well and I’ve been thinking a lot lately.”  
“Don’t do anything that might hurt you.”  
“Could you please just stop interrupting me? The thing is, I’m here to ask for your blessings.”

“…”  
“Could you please say anything?”

The blonde was silent for another second, and then he grinned.

“It’s always so funny that you think you’re about to be doomed, but I already know.”  
“What? You do?”  
“Sure. Look what I got for you.”

The older one reached for the drawer and he couldn’t help but grew stiff, he knew exactly what kind of weapons his friend was hiding in the cupboard.

“Relax, Briareos, not gonna kill you. Told you before.”

The blonde fetched some small box, holding it up to him.

“There you go.”

Carefully he took what he was offered and looked inside.

It was a little, golden ring, nothing special about it, simple, plain.

“It’s my great-great-grandmother’s one. I gave it to Gilliam that day and I doubt she would mind if you take it.”

He stared at the small piece of jewelry.

“How did you know?”

“Because if you’re dedicating yourself, you’re never only halfway in. And as you were always searching for a strong bond I believe there is nothing stronger than this. I knew you would come sooner or later.”  
“So you don’t mind?”

The blonde laughed.

“Of course not. I always saw something like a son in you and this would make it officially.”

He grinned softly. “Don’t expect me to call you father.”

“Oh no, that would make me feel so old.”  
They talked for some more minutes, enjoying those precious moments, cherishing each seconds.

After a while he got up.

“I have to leave now.”

“I know. Give my daughter a kiss from me, will you?”  
He grinned. “Of course. And don’t worry Carl. I will protect her with my life. I’ll make sure she’ll survive.”

The older man nodded and threw his blanket aside.

“What are you doing?”

“Just give me a second.”

In careful motions the blonde got up, his movements slow and tired, but there was still the tension every soldier, even if retired, showed. For another time Briareos doubted that the other one would return to the active ones again.

“Here.” He pulled out a small weapon out of his drawer. “Can you give this to Deunan once I’m gone?”

For a moment he just stared at the weapon. On one hand Carl claimed he was returning to the troops but on the other hand he was asking him things like that. The reason was obvious. There was no knowing if Carl would survive or if Deunan and he would survive.

Carefully he took the small gun, looking at it like the greatest treasure. “Of course.”  
The next moment he was hugged by the other man, who once had been taller than him, so many years ago. “I will miss you, Briareos.”  
He put his arms around his oldest friend. “I will miss you as well.”

“Please, while protecting Deunan, while making sure she’ll survive, promise me just one more thing.”

“Whatever it is.”

“Stay alive, my son!”

 

“So how are you holding up?”

“What does it look like?”

“Like it sucks.”  
“It does suck.”

The Commander laughed. “I wouldn’t want to switch with you.”  
“No kidding!”

He was sitting on the wanna-be dentist-chair, multiple wires connected to his body.

He was sweating like hell.

“Seems like they didn’t fix your sweat-issue yet.”

“They say they need to turn the heat-transfer all the way up, I feel like I’m in a steam sauna.”  
“So this is on purpose?”

“Apparently.” He sighed.

“I really don’t like how much time you spend here. Would be nice if you came to work for training and not only for taking a shower and fighting with your girl.”  
“She’s a grown woman, Lance.”  
“Well about the grown up part our opinions differ.”

A scientist came by and checked something.

“Hey, how long does he have to stay here, today? I still need him at work you know?”

The older man with glasses looked up unimpressed.

“Commander, you may need him for daily work, but we’re writing history here.”  
“You two do know that I’m not some kind of tool, don’t you?”

“Don’t worry, Briareos, all tests so far are excellent, if we keep this up we might not even need another four weeks.”  
“Four weeks?” The Commander seemed surprised.

“Of course, Dr. Wilder had completed the whole research, all we need to do is to prepare the test subject.”  
“And once again, you do know that I’m a living human being, right?”

“We are well aware, Briareos. By the way, I need another blood sample.”

“Sure, go ahead, not like I need it.” The cyborg laughed ironically.

After half a minute the older man left.

“Sure some odd folks.” The commander said.

“Don’t make fun of them, they’re all I’ve got left between me and death.”  
The Commander sighed.

“Don’t say something like that, Briareos, makes me wonder if this is really such a good idea.”

“No change of heart, Commander. Not after all I’ve sacrificed.”

“Oh, you think that with Deunan isn’t something temporary?”

“I think she was quite clear in what she wanted.”

“Geez, you two really give me some headache. Fix that, Briareos, as a friend I advise you to talk with her again. Well, I’m going to Nike and discuss with her how to fit some training into your schedule.”  
“Yeah, thank you, I would love to kick some asses around.”

The Commander grinned and raised his hand before he left.

Briareos was tired. Those tests were taking their toll on him. For a successful experiment they needed his body to reach a perfect status and to maintain it for over twenty-four hours. Same for the test object. And all their samples had to correspond with each other. No differ was allowed, for it would lead to failure and a failure would kill him.

He was tired. His body was killing him. The tests messed up his system sometimes, and he was sweating like a bull in summer.

“Hey.” Yoshitsune showed up. “You were gone early. I could have taken you with me.”  
“No, it’s all good. Thanks for letting me sleep at yours.”

“Like I said no problem. Anytime.”

“Can you do me a favor.”  
“Sure.”  
“Could you please check my battery? I have the feeling those tests are ruining it.”

“On it.”

Briareos leaned forward so the engineer was able to reach for his back. Yoshitsune had learned a lot the past weeks to be able to support the team. He worked non-stop except for sleeping, and studying various information while eating. He was already quite good in the Hecatonchires’ biology system.

“Hmm… give me a sec. I get the reader.”

He leaned back against the chair.

He was tired. He didn’t want to fight with Deunan, he didn’t want to hurt her. But right now, right here, he couldn’t change it. He couldn’t tell her the truth. And even though it tore him apart, he needed to stay strong. This was the best for her in case he’d died, even in case he’d survived.

He wanted to tell her the truth, wanted her by his side, wanted her support, but the last day had shown him for another time, that he needed to do this on his own. He needed to do this for himself.

He couldn’t fight her strong mind and his own one at the same time.

He needed to prepare her for the future, no matter what happened to him, so she was able to survive. All her life she had been guarded, first by Carl and then by him, but she needed to guard herself, that was the last thing he could teach her. And if she needed to hate him for that, he would play along.

“Okay, here I go.” The bioroid showed up again, some handy machine with him. “So let’s see where our little problem is.”

He sighed. “Stop making it sound like this is some game. I’m not Cavity Sam.”  
“Who?”

“Forget it. Not important.”

Sometimes he forgot that most people nowadays didn’t know anything about things from the past. He had studied anything he could, including culture. There were few like him.

“Well it all looks normal actually. I assume your battery simply gets drained by your system working nonstop at full speed.”

“But that’s not good, I feel like a steam roller. I cannot go on like this for another four weeks. Can’t you do anything about this?”  
“I can ask Bruno, maybe he has an idea.”

“Who’s Bruno?”

The bioroid moved his chin into the direction of a tall man and went off.

“Oh and Yoshitsune…” He called after him and the other one turned around. “Something’s off with my phone system as well. It turns on and off all the time and I cannot make any calls since yesterday.”

The engineer showed a thumps-up to say that he understood and walked up to the tall man, talking in a serious matter.

Briareos sighed.  This wasn’t what he had expected.

_Well, you chose it yourself, so suck it up and stop whining_

He could hear her voice, like she was sitting next to him.

_And just think about the future. Think about all the things you could do after this. Think about all the things we could do_

He loved the way she always looked on the bright side of life. But she wouldn’t say this if he’d told her. She wouldn’t see the things he could achieve, they could gain. She would only see what she could lose and he didn’t want her to worry.

He didn’t want her to be scared.

For a moment he watched the huge monitor at the wall across. It showed his own data compared to the other test object.

Their concurrence was about 85%, which was good, not 100% yet, but increasing steadily.

He got medication, infusions and all kinds of different adjustment.

Suddenly Nike showed up in the door.

She looked exhausted, like most of them were, working around the clock.

Her strong glance searched for him, found him and stared him down.

With few strides she made her way over.

“Nike.” He greeted her tired. “You look like I feel.”  
The shadow of a grin crossed her face.

“We’re making great progress. Dr. Morris told me we can start the simulation by next week.”

He nodded.

“I did hope for some more enthusiasm.”

“I’m sorry, Nike, I’m just tired.”  
“Yeah, I heard about your dilemma last night.”

“It seems everybody in Olympus did.”

“Do you want to quit the mission?”  
“Of course not. This is all more the reason to do it.”

She nodded. “Good. I wouldn’t appreciate your retreat after all I’ve done.”  
“After all you’ve done?” He asked sarcastically.

She looked down at him.

“Briareos, I don’t know if you’re actually aware of this, but even though you’re the one risking your life, I am the one responsible. If this mission fails I’m not only at fault for destroying the only Hecatonchires alive but also for your very own death.”

“Oh, I’m sorry if my potential death is an inconvenience for you.”

She didn’t laugh. “I think you’re not aware of the influence you have in national and international affairs.”

“You mean, the influence my Hecatonchires’ body has. If I were a mere human, nobody would care.”

“Try not to die, Briareos, I would really appreciate that.”

She turned around and head towards some other scientists, ordering them around in a cold voice.

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

After few seconds he fell asleep.


	18. Chapter17

Chapter 17

 

It was early in the morning when she left the shower.

She was tired, she hadn’t slept well. She had waited all night for Briareos to come home. At some point she had fallen asleep. She had tried to call him, but he didn’t pick up.

He hadn’t come home. Hadn’t carried her to bed like the last time he had came home late.

Now she was up and countless emotions were raging within her. She was mad at him, she was furious at herself, she was worried, she was scarred and she was actually damn sad.

Yesterday had been horrible. This wasn’t like their usual fights, like their usual quarrel. Briareos didn’t fight, he didn’t stand up to her, telling her to shut up, telling her to stop her nonsense. He didn’t do what she had expected him to. He didn’t do what he usually did. He had been weak, dodging her attacks but not fighting back. He had been hiding instead of going all out.

She wasn’t used to such a behavior by him, maybe by everybody else, but not by him. He had always been there, always able to hold out her moods.

She sighed. It seemed Briareos had changed a lot, not telling her what was moving him and not talking with her at all. But she wouldn’t give up that easily. Today at work she would confront him again, but this time without getting too emotional, without letting him run away. Today she would solve the mystery surrounding her wingman and afterwards she would apologize for her words.

She knew how difficult it was for Briareos to be a Hecatonchires. He certainly had a lot of advantages, especially in fighting, but she knew the heavy burden he had to carry as well and it had been thoughtless of her to hurt him with this knowledge. Not only thoughtless but terribly low-down.

She sighed for another time and put some clothes on.

Brooding around wouldn’t bring her anywhere, only acting would.

Right before she left she tried to call Briareos for another time, but he didn’t pick up.

She couldn’t really blame him.

She had told him to stay away, that she would be fine without him, but she’d never thought he’d actually believe her words.

Something was awfully wrong.

Half an hour later she arrived at her workplace. At first she looked around for Briareos specialized motorbike, but it was nowhere to be found, neither at its usual spot, nor at the front parking lot for visitors.

She sighed again, he wasn’t at work apparently.

Good-for-nothing Wataru on the other hand was already waiting for her of course, his polite smile with him as always.

Deunan cracked her knuckles. She was already craving for his blood, she wanted to beat him up and today she would regardless of the consequences.

But to her surprise it wasn’t as easy as she expected, that idiotic bioroid was actually already better than the day before or maybe she was just worse than usual because of her lack of sleep.

They fought for hours, he bringing her down numerous times, more often than she could beat him.

It was almost noon when she fell down for another time, bruising her left forearm.

“Are you alright, Deunan?” Wataru asked in his polite but worried voice, sounding weaker and softer than Briareos ever would. “You move slower than usual and use the same tactics all the time. Are you sick? Maybe a headache?”  
She looked up, looking at his face to remind herself, who she was talking to. Yes, her head was pounding, but it wasn’t like she was sick.

“I’m fine, Wataru. Let’s continue.”

But only seconds later she was back on all fours again.

“Fuck!” She hissed and hit the ground with her fist.

“Maybe we should take a break.” Wataru proposed kindly.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” She murmured and was getting up again, ignoring his offered hand but turned away to leave.

“Eat some lunch, back here in 90 minutes.”

“Deunan.”

She hesitated. The way he called her was hurting her more than any punch could.

“What is it?”

He followed her.

“Maybe we can eat together?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“No.”  
He looked surprised, maybe a little bit hurt, but smiled friendly nonetheless.

“Why not? We’re a team now, it would be better to get to know each other so we become good partners and…”  
“We’re no partners.” She whispered. “Don’t ever say that again.”

Now he looked sad, but she was too mad to worry about his feelings.

“Never forget that this is only _temporary_ , Wataru! My only partner is Briareos and you will never replace him.”  
She turned around and left.

For another time she tried to call Briareos, but like before, he didn’t pick up.

After a quick shower she went straight for the Commander’s office, he was the only one she could ask now.

“Commander Lance.” She said and went in without knocking. The tall man was sitting at his desk, a white tray with an empty plate at his side, papers in front of him. He had just finished his lunch.

“Deunan, you may come in.” He sighed ironically and offered her a chair with one swift hand movement, not even looking up from his work.

“I wanted to talk with you this morning, but you weren’t here.”  
“Yeah, I know. Thanks for keeping track of my busy schedule.” They shared a strong glance. “I had a meeting with Nike, returned just an hour ago. We got a lot to cope these days, I wish I could go without sleep or without food or I had two more days a week, there’s so much to do.” He sighed. “But I’m sure you’re not here to talk about my daily work.”

She nodded sharply, she wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

“I wanted to ask you something, Sir.”  
“I expected that much Deunan, why else would you be stealing my time?”

“Do you know where Briareos is? He isn’t at work today and doesn’t pick up his phone. Have you heard anything of him?”

For a moment the Commander looked down at his papers, before sighing again and laying them aside.

“Yeah, I heard of him.”

“Really?”  
“Yes, and I’m not the only one. I think everyone knows what happened yesterday.”  
Her face grew stiff. “What?”

Lance looked at her in a serious way.

“Deunan, you know that relationships are usually not allowed in here, you and Briareos are one of very few exceptions because of your history and your great results together.”

She nodded. It wasn’t the first time she received a speech like that, but usually the Hecatonchires was next to her, whispering low things to make her grin meanwhile, but not today.

“Yesterday is the perfect example why we should keep business and private apart.” He sighed again. “But because there’s no upcoming important mission within the next days and because I know that not all days of a relationship can go smoothly I will not remark any of it.”

“Thank you.” She answered plain.

“But Deunan.” He looked at her serious. “You need to fix that. Whatever that is between the both of you push it aside. I cannot have two of my best soldiers fighting all the time.”

She bit her lips. “It’s not like I’m fighting with him, Lance, it’s more…”

“I really don’t want to hear about your private stuff, Knute. Talk with Briareos about that.”  
She raised an eyebrow and bit her cheek. “The issue is that he doesn’t talk with me.” She murmured.

Lance shrugged his shoulders and opened another folder with more papers.

“What’s this supposed to mean?” She said and imitated his shoulder shrugging.

He looked up again. “Well maybe he cannot talk about it.”

“Why shouldn’t he?” She knew that the Commander knew something, but wasn’t telling her.

The older man sighed. “Well, we both know that the acronym SM can be comprehended as something else than your and Briareos’ private hobby.”

“Stop assuming things about my private life without any proof, Commander.” A dark voice replied.

“Briareos!”

The tall cyborg just entered the office, looking at her for a second before raising his head and glancing at his superior, shaking his head slightly.

He looked tired and sweated like hell. He must have been training the whole morning and rushed right here before even showering.

“Bria…” “Knute.” She was interrupted by her Commander. “Please close the door on your way out.”

She stared at Lance. This was some way to be thrown out, especially after he had told her to talk with Briareos himself. But then she remembered his hint. _SM?_ Maybe a secret mission?

She stood up while Briareos sat down.

“Can we talk afterwards?” She asked and looked down at her partner.

The cyborg nodded. “Sure.” Nothing more.

On her way out she heard the men talking.

Briareos handed Lance some piece of paper.

“She could have mailed it.”  
“After what has happened she doesn’t trust wireless connections anymore.”  
“Thanks for reminding me of that. I’m glad you could make it. As you see…”

The door was closed.

After a second thought she decided to wait, she wouldn’t allow Briareos to disappear before talking with him.

 

“Okay, we’re good to go.” She laughed. “I cannot wait.”  
He grinned. “Even war cannot cloud you mood, right?”  
She kissed him on his cheek and run off. “Not as long as you’re with me, Bri.”

He shook his head. Her energy was refreshing. He followed her down the hallway, down the stairs. Some strange feeling in his chest. He had spent his life here, in this hallway, this room, this house and somehow he got the feeling he would leave it for good.

Outside Deunan was already waiting for him, her heavy backpack at her side.

“Hey.” She said, pointing her chin at some dark skinned man not far in the distance, waiting at the entrance of the office building. “Who’s that? I’ve never seen him before.”

He grinned and raised his hand.

“Alexander!” The called one turned around, smiling brightly as he recognized Briareos. Just at that moment some other tall person left the other building and rushed towards the waiting man, hugging him.

“That’s him?!” Deunan whispered in awe. “ _The_ Alexander?”

“Don’t make it sound like he’s some kind of God.” He grinned at her and walked off, meeting the other men halfway.

“Aaron, Alexander. Good to see you.” He greeted both of them. “Where’s Tom. Would have loved to see him.”

“Briareos, must been ages.” The newcomer said and shook hands with the soldier, while Smith stayed beside him.

“Deunan come over, I want you to meet my husband Alexander.”

“Pleasure meeting you.” She said, a little bit breathless.

The civilian nodded in agreement.

“I left Tommy with my mum, I don’t want him at the base with so much happening today, don’t want to frighten him.” Aaron explained.

“Oh my, Smith. He’s no baby anymore and it’s not like we’re playing around with sharp weapons trying to kill each other in the bloodiest way possible.” Briareos sighed.

“Well, remembering your training sessions with Nathaniel that’s exactly what you did. And Deunan isn’t much better.” Aaron pointed out.

“I give you that.” The younger one admitted. “But still…”  
“Not everyone’s like you, my friend. Don’t begrudge that he’s growing up in peace.”

“On the contrary, I really hope he does.”

“Heyhey.” Deunan interrupted. “Don’t start fighting. Today’s our departure.”  
“We’re not fighting.” They both said in unison.

“We’re always like that.” Aaron grinned.

“Unfortunately yes, we are.” Briareos agreed with a sigh.

“By the way I wanted to thank you, Briareos.” Alexander entered the conversation again. “Thank you for urging this idiot here to stay at home.”

“No problem. Elders should stay behind.”

“Oh geez! Someone’s in a good temper today. I’m not that much older than you!”

“It’s good for you to stay here, Aaron. You don’t need no war. You have a family.”

For a moment both comrades stared at each other, before the older one hugged the younger one.

“Thank you, my friend. Thank you for convincing Watson.”  
“No problem. Anytime.”

Aaron went over to Deunan and talked with her, giving Briareos and Alexander few moments alone.

“Can you do me a favor?” Briareos asked.

“Sure.”

“Can you keep an eye on Carl? He’ll be moody now with Deunan and me gone, but he needs someone to give him company.”

The other man grinned. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of him.”

He nodded and watched Deunan hug Aaron frisky, almost making him fall.

“And if something happens, I would really appreciate if you would reach out for me first.”

The civilian stared at him.

“Oh… uhm are you sure? I mean he’s Deunan’s…”

“I know, please contact me first.”

Their eyes met, before Alexander nodded.

“Of course. I’ll tell Aaron.”

“Thanks man.”

“Briareos! It’s time.” Deunan yelled with excitement.

“Yes, I’m coming.”

He bid both men farewell, feeling that heavy burden in his chest again.

This could be the last time they would be together. But at least he had saved another son of losing his father.

“Goodbye my brothers.” He said feeling tremendously cheeky, turned around and left, catching up to Deunan, who was already running towards the departure line.

As he reached her, she linked her arms with him, ignoring some looks they were getting.

“How nice of Alexander to see us off. I wonder why Aaron never brought him here before.”

“He likes to keep business from private.” He tried to smile, but it was difficult.

“It’s not always easy for the likes of him.”

“Huh?” She turned at him, as he put his backpack away. “What do you mean by that? _The likes of him_?”  
He sighed. “Well, being different is never easy.”

She put hers next to his. “Being different?”

He shook his head and kissed her on the forehead. “Sometimes I simply love you for your naivety of not seeing it. Thank you.”

She grinned confused.

“I understand him.” He continued. “I’m different as well and I did my best to adapt as good as possible, even though I couldn’t change my skin or background.”

She slightly punched his shoulder.

“What are you talking about? Your skin is beautiful.”

He looked at her, his little Miss Brightside.

They sat down and put the belts on.

“I think the bioroids have some tough time as well. It will take time for the majority to accept minorities, Aaron and I know that.”  
She tilted her head.

“Come here.” She whispered and her hand reached for him. “Let me push away all those dark thoughts for you. Let me be your light.”  
He kissed her hand. “You always are. I love you.”

 

She stood across the hallway and stared down that door.

Her lunch break was long over, but she wouldn’t leave, not before she could talk with Briareos.

Her foot tapped some steady rhythm and passing people looked at her, mostly confused, but she ignored them, it wasn’t that unusual for one to wait in front of the Commander’s office, right?

Well, maybe it was.

Suddenly the door was opened.

“Okay, that would be it for now. Be sure to meet Charles right away. The sooner the better, Briareos.”  
“Yes, Sir.” The cyborg answered in his soldier voice and came out.

It was obvious for Deunan that he seemed surprised, seeing her outside, waiting for him.

“Briareos.”  
“Deunan.” He sounded tired, exhausted, so different from the voice he used just seconds ago when talking with the Commander.

“You didn’t come home yesterday.” She said accusing.

“It didn’t sound like I still could.” He replied calm.

She wanted to answer, but didn’t for a second. They just looked at each other. After a moment he sighed. “Very well, I have to go now. You heard Lance.”

“But…Just wait, Briareos.” She grabbed his arm as he walked off. “Can’t we talk?”

He looked down at her hand and then up at her face. It was so hard to read him. “I’m not sure there is anything left to talk about, Deunan. You said already enough yesterday.” His voice was sad, not scolding.

“So that’s it?” She asked shocked. “We’re over?”  
The tall man sighed again. “As far as I remember you ended it Deunan, not me. So please don’t ask me about your decisions.”

“But that wasn’t… I didn’t… Briareos!” She didn’t know what to say.

He turned for her. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, Deunan.”

She smiled relieved. “But maybe you’re right. Maybe we do need some distance.”  
“What? What do you mean, Briareos?”

He shrugged his shoulders.  “Like you said, there’s few I have left in common with that man you promised to marry back then.”

She felt cold. “But…but that was…”

“I think I need time to find myself again.”

“But… but what about me? What about us?”

He sighed again. “Wataru seems to be a good boy. He’ll make an excellent partner.”  
“I’m not talking about work!” She said louder now, almost yelling. “Even though that decision of yours is completely insane!”  
She breathed harshly. “I’m talking about our relationship! You’re my partner, not only at work.”

“Wataru is your partner for now. Leave it like that. And this isn’t the right spot to talk about private matters.”

“So there it is again. My father talking through your mouth.” She said hurt and mad at the same time.

“Fine.” Her voice was still loud, dripping with defiance. “So we’re over, just as you wish.”

He lowered his head, shaking it halfway, trying to respond, but she was faster. “But to make it clear. If you go now, it’s over for good! You don’t need to come back! There’ll be no place left.”

She was almost yelling now, making several heads of passing operatives turn.

It seemed like Briareos was thinking about saying something, but the door behind the cyborg was opened again.

“Oh Briareos, good you’re still here.” Lance showed up in the door frame, a calm expression on his face, like he hadn’t heard anything. He offered Briareos some old looking book. “Can you take it with you? I promised Charles to bring it back before two o’clock.”

The other man took it with a sharp nod. “Of course, I’m on my way.”

The soldier turned around and left with sharp strides, past Deunan and around the corner, his heavy steps echoing through the building.

Lance sighed heavily. “When I told you to talk with Briareos I wanted you to fix whatever you’re dealing with, not to break it completely.”

She bit her lip. “Don’t worry. I pushed the problem aside, just like you told me.”

“Deunan, I meant…”

“I have to go now. Wataru is already waiting for me.”

Almost running she left the office wing and head for the showers, tears of anger and pain flowing down her cheeks.

 


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 

“Hey Charles.”

“Briareos! Good to see you!” The older man greeted him excited.

“Same goes for you. This is from Lance.” He put the old book on the other man’s desk.

“What can I do for you, Briareos? Are you back in the game?”

“Yes, finally. Lance sent you some mail with dates when you can book me in.”

The older man scratched his head and turned to his connective board. Within few movements he opened his mail-folder.

“Dates? That’s strange. I mean, sure I love to find some spots for you. You last mission was that MTC two months ago, wasn’t it?”   
The Hecatonchires nodded.

“Yeah, the other guys missed you in action, especially Deu… oh sorry, I heard about yesterday. Must be tough to see each other twenty-four-seven.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry. Just give me some work to do.”

“Are you sure? You just returned to work this week, are you already in the condition for hard work?”

“I am, don’t worry. Just no long-term missions.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” The other man nodded, reading the mail. “Phew, Lance must be joking. No mission longer than twelve hours, not two days back-to-back, no mission outside of Olympus. What the hell? This is no musical request program! Why is he keeping you at the short leash?”

He sighed. “He’s probably just as worried about my health as you are.”  
The soldier laughed.  “Probably, oh alright, fine with me and it’s only for the next few weeks, afterwards you’re totally free.”

“Looking forward to it.” The cyborg agreed.

“Oh, just wait, Briareos.”

He turned around.

“Uh… just for my organization. Your partner will be…?”  
“Ries of course. Lance teamed me up with him.”

“ _Of course_? What about Deunan?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“As far as I know she and that newbie Wataru are partners.” With those words he left.

He was tired, he was exhausted.

His system was already warning him that his battery was being drained again and he was still sweating like in the midst of summer.  A never ending beeping told him non-stop that his phone-system was trying to call somebody that didn’t exist. He sighed.

He needed a break, but it was impossible for him, his body would never give him enough room to breathe.

Not even talking about his mind never been able to slow down.

The recent intermezzo with Deunan was taking its toll again.  He loved her, this feeling would never cease and he never wanted to be apart from her, but right now he was simply hurt. Hurt in a way only she was capable of hurting him.

After a quick shower he changed into his sportswear and met Ries at his favorite drill spot.

“Finally back Briareos.” His old friend greeted him. “I was already worried about you. You weren’t here for two days. And yesterday you showed up only to shower and to fight your girl. Are you okay?”

He waved that aside. “Let’s work, my friend. Talking won’t help me right now. And don’t worry, this time I won’t go easy on you.”

Ries raised an eyebrow. “Like you did last time.”

Both laughed before going into position.

The surrounding teams were fighting as well, Deunan’s light voice easily recognized between the dark manly ones.

But he decided to ignore it, decided to ignore anything else except for his opponent.

He loosened his muscles, an old habit of him from being human and cracked his knuckles, which still worked in this body, luckily.

His computer mind opened another folder, while Ries was observing him.

Since they started the experiment his body had to work on full blast around the clock, straining his muscles and his brain.

This was necessary to reach the full capacity of what his body could achieve.

On Tuesday he had been almost unable to walk and talk at the same time, while his system drenched him.

Today he felt better, like he was at least able to throw a few punches.

Maybe he was actually able to reach his maximum within the next four weeks.

The folder told him that he was already at fifty-two percent, on Tuesday he had been at thirty-four. Which wasn’t too bad, given that after the MCT he had been below five percent.

But while dodging the first and second attack he was already sweating again. He really hated that heat.

 

“Wow, it’s so warm.”  
“What did you expect? It’s Africa.”

“Yeah, it’s Africa, finally.”

He sighed defeated, but she ran around happily, like a little child, a grin on her lips, her eyes huge.

“Stop behaving like we’re on a field trip.” But he couldn’t help a smile as he watched her.

He looked around. For twenty years he had not been on this continent. After twenty long years he had returned.

“So this is your home country.” She said, walking beside him.

“I am indeed African origin, Deunan. But it’s never been my home.”

He sighed for another time. He really didn’t need old memories to be revived.

“Okay, let’s get all set up, afterwards I promised to call Carl.”

She giggled silently.

“Are you laughing about me?”

“Oh, I would never dare to make fun of my homesick man.”

“I’m not homesick.”

“Well, I’m not the one who wants to call daddy.”

They went on like that for the next hour, while preparing their camp. The mood in their unit was way better than excepted. Even though Briareos wasn’t in the high ranks anymore he was still very influential. Watson had listened to him when he talked. Thanks to that he had a word of who to place in his unit. All in all sixty ESWAT-members were called in, parted into three units with twenty soldiers each. His was the special unit of their special force, that’s why Watson allowed him to choose the best men he wanted.

Deunan was one of those best. Even though she was still young, she was one of the greatest point men they had.

Officially they were all nothing else than common soldiers, nothing special at all, but of course they weren’t supposed to fight in the same line with the military, for they had specialized missions to take care of. Twenty of them could be more effective than thousand normal soldiers, if used correctly.

“Former Major General.” He turned around.

Captain O’Brian was the leading operative, stepping up after Carl had been on his break for so long. They knew each other for a very long time already. O’Brian had already been General when Briareos was promoted to be the next one. They had worked together on several cases and trained countless soldiers.

Their views were different in some points but they agreed for most of the time. Although he had suggested Aaron to replace himself, O’Brian had been a satisfying choice. Climbing up the ladder fast. Almost as fast as he was, well he wasn’t actually fast, he just had started early.

“Captain.” He greeted his superior. He would listen to those man’s orders.

“I’m glad you finally came over.”

Most of their men had arrived already two days ago.

“Yeah, me too. Was getting lonely at LA, the base is almost empty.”

O’Brian laughed before being serious again.

“Listen Briareos, I know you stepped down, but I really need another smart head for the moment.”

He tilted his head. “What’s wrong?”  
The Captain looked aside for a moment.

“The situation is not as expected. We are in a bad position.”

He leaned forward so Briareos was the only one to hear his next words. “To be honest, Crane and I see no way how to win this without killing countless of our own men.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you call the Chief? Why didn’t you tell him?”

“I did.” O’Brian sighed. “He told me to wait for you.”

“What?”

“Yeah, he said he had talked with Knute about this operation and Knute was certain you could find a way.”

“Well, I was about to call Carl, but sure, let me see what I can do.”  
“Thanks.”

The Captain left.

Under normal circumstances it would be strange to ask a common soldier to join the strategy team. But the situation wasn’t normal and he wasn’t as well.

“Deunan.” He called for the girl, who was joking around with some other comrades. “Take care of my stuff.”   
She looked at him with concern but nodded without asking further questions.

The next hours he spent in highly concentrated conversations with four other operatives, all of them once had been his grade or below him, they respected him, but that also meant they expected a lot of him, they expected a miracle as it seemed.

He stared at his documents and at the map in front of him. They expected him to find a solution they couldn’t.  He wasn’t Carl but he was the best replacement they had.

The other supervisors were right, the situation was bad. Russia was stronger than they had expected and instead of African support they had to face hostile natives as well.

They were at the North African Front. But they didn’t actually fight for Africa, those days were long gone. They needed to stop countless civil wars within the great war against Russia.

Russia was fighting at two fronts for the moment – three if counting the small quarrel at China in, but nobody really did – one at the former German border and here in Africa.

If the US lost this war, Russia would not only win another continent but concentrate its power on their last ally, Europe.

And after Europe, America would be next. They needed to stop Russia from invading Africa completely. If not another World War would follow.

“No idea?” Branson asked.

He mumbled something under his breath, not really listening.

What was he thinking? This was already another World War and even if they won this conflict right here, the whole world was a total mess and he was more than certain that North America wouldn’t be save for long, especially with Brazil rearing up again.

“Former Major General!” He looked up, meeting O’Brian’s eyes.

If he told him what he was thinking they would all run, because their chance of success was low. But they probably knew, that’s why Watson had allowed him to take whoever he wanted.

“Why do you call me that?” He asked instead of telling his real thoughts. “I have a rank.”

This was a suicide mission. It was impossible to secure all sixty lives, not even talking about the other American soldiers at this Front. He knew it already and he knew that they knew.

“Do you have any idea about what to do?” His Captain asked instead of answering.

They shared another glance. Yes, O’Brian was actually asking him if he agreed, if he agreed to sacrifice some chosen lives. Sacrificing some of their own men and even more common soldiers, asking him to play God.

“I’m not sure.”

There was something. Something like a word on the tip of his tongue. There had to be another way, but he didn’t see it just yet.

“What? You either have an idea or not.” General Smith said. Not Aaron, they just had the same family name, something that had confused him for weeks back then.

Their strategy was great, there was no big mistake within as far as he could see. But yes, there was something they were missing and he needed to find out what it was.

“I need to make a call.”

He walked outside, not waiting for any of them to respond, dialing, looking at the little screen of his phone.

After few beeps the only man he ever looked up to picked up, looking as pale and weak as always.

“Hey, my friend. Didn’t expect you to…”  
“Sorry, but I got no time for small talk. I need to discuss something with you.”

The blonde’s back straightened up.

“You need a sparring partner?”  
He nodded and told the other one in sharp words what he had thought about.

Due to the suboptimal connection he had to repeat himself multiple times.

To his surprise Carl disagreed in the most important points to his own thoughts. Their discussion was like in old days. They understood each other’s opinions too well, but dissented never the less.

“No, Briareos, I really don’t see what you…”

“Wait Carl, you’re not telling me you agree with them?”

“It would be better to send a team of six…”

“No, like I said it would kill them. I think it’s wiser to…”  
“Too many of them and they catch all attention.”

“I know. But don’t you agree that, concerning the second entry…”  
“Don’t worry about that one; we’re talking about a whole border you need to pass. What is one entry compared to miles of…”

“We don’t need to worry about that, if we take the route along the villages.”

“A couple of armed strangers running around and…”

“I could go. I know the terrain, I know the language. Alone I’ll be quicker and I can…”  
“What are you babbling about? You know the rules, it’s madness to put all your eggs in one basket. You all alone in…”  
“What are you talking about?”  
He turned around. Deunan had shown up, her sneaky grin on place.

“Another sharp mind to join the discussion.” Carl said without any intend to compliment her.

Deunan became serious; she knew this was business now.

“What’s the deal?”  
For another time Briareos explained the issue his strategy had.

“And like I said.” Carl continued his words. “Your plan is good, but you need to take a risk here. You need a small group of people, five or six to get down there, so you can…”

“And I told that would be suicide. “

“The strategy works.”  
“Yes it does, I know. But I will not sacrifice those men’s lives.”  
“Briareos look. I cannot see any other way, so if you’re not doing it this mission is about to fail. If that’s the case you have only two options left, send your comrades home and lose the war to Russia or die a senseless death and lose to Russia, just as well. Whatever you do, the next shore they’re on will be America.”

“I will not sacrifice any lives as long as there’s another way, Carl.”

“There is no other way Briareos, suck it up. You’re a man, make a man’s decision!”

“I rather go alone than endanger our men.”  
“And this is just ridiculous, Briareos. One soldier all alone in the desert, trying to take down an army. Be real please.”

“What about two?”

Both men looked at the girl, who was still in deep thoughts.

“That’s nonsense.” Carl said harshly and Briareos nodded in agreement.

“If six won’t survive, two have no chance of success.” He replied calmer than Carl had.

She shook her head.

“I’m not talking about any soldiers. I’m talking about us.”  
Both men were silent.

“Like you said, you know the country, we speak their language. A man and a woman all alone, could be refugees.”  
“No, I don’t see…”  
“Give it a second, Briareos.” Carl interrupted him, his image crackling.

“She isn’t wrong you know. It’s better than you going on your own.”

He looked back and forth between the two blondes.

“I mean we all agree that we need to take the risk for it to succeed and if you’re not willing to sacrifice the lives of others, but willing to risk yours and Deunan’s…” Carl didn’t continue.

For most people it would be hard to hear a father talk like that about his daughter, but they were at war, there was no time for sentimentally.

“No one’s trained like we are. We’re probably more efficient that a group of five or six normal soldiers.” Deunan commented and she was probably right.

“Isn’t this the exact reason why you stepped down, my friend? You said you wanted to be down there, not behind some desk brooding over some strategy.”

He bit his lip, looking down at Deunan. She was fast and smart, all she was lacking he didn’t, they completed each other like a puzzle. They didn’t need words to communicate and knew each other’s movements too well.

He nodded.

“I talk to O’Brian.”

He tossed his phone over to Deunan and went back inside, hearing her fading words exchanged calmly with Carl, no conversation between father and daughter, but between soldier and superior. That was the only time when they harmonized with each other, talking about strategies.

The other supervising operatives were waiting for him, silencing as he entered.

“So you found a way.” O’Brian stated regarding him closely. “What did you see, what we didn’t?”

He shook his head with a thin smile. “Nothing. We were debating the exact same thing, but we have a solution and I can promise you, you won’t like it.”

At first he told them how to optimize their general strategy. There wasn’t much to improve, Carl and he had agreed on almost everything, which didn’t surprise him too much.

Few questions were asked, so he went on to the more urgent matter.

After few words it became obvious that none of the others liked it, even less, they couldn’t see how it would work out.

If Aaron had been here, he knew it would have been less of a problem, because Aaron knew what he and Deunan were capable of, but they didn’t.

For them it was irrational to send two soldiers down, while saying at the same time that sending six of them would be too risky.

He tried to explain to them that this was different, but they had a hard time believing.

“It’s her fist combat experience.”  
“What if you’re out of ammo?”

“We have no back-up, if we do that!”  
“If both of you die, we gained nothing but lose it all.”

“Is there any reason why you should go?”

He stood up, looking at them straight.

“Watson allowed me to choose who’s in my unit.” He said in a clear voice. “I know, Deunan and I are still young, but believe me, we’re the best pawns we have for that game. If we leave by tomorrow we could cut their supply route within the next ten days without them even noticing. And if we fail you are right back to the start, where we are now.”

O’Brian was caught in thoughts, starring at the map, observing the suggested route.

“You’re sure you need less than twenty-four hours to prepare yourself and Deunan?” He asked in his most rational voice.

“We only arrived today, but yes. I actually think it’s better for us to take action as soon as possible.”

“You could use two Landmates for the first sixty miles.” The Captain murmured and drew his finger along the route. “But here’s the first village, you would need to leave them behind and go on by foot.”  
He nodded.

“You can only take what you can carry and we have no way to support you if anything happens.”

He nodded again.

“And you’re sure that’s our best shot, Former Major General Man?”  
He nodded.

O’Brian sighed.

“Very well, I will call Watson for some satellite support, maybe there is something we can do if needed. You go and get ready.”  
“Yes, Sir.”

He went out, hearing their talk, but ignoring it.

The moment he opened the door something clicked within him.

Peace was over, Briareos the soldier, almost asleep for twenty years, was awakened. He loosened his muscles and cracked his knuckles.

This was his war.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

 

“Good morning sunshine, it’s time to get up.”  
“Ugh…”

“I bought some croissants and the coffee is almost ready. You can use the bathroom now, if you want to.”

“Yeah… thanks.”

“Well, I will head to work now. You can stay as long as you want, but if you do leave, please pull the door close. It will lock on its own.”

“Yeah… thanks.”

Suddenly her blanket was pulled away and fresh air greeted her, tickling her feet.

“And now get up, Deunan.” The sweet voice whispered.

“Yes.” She sighed.  
It was really kind of Hitomi to let her sleep over, but right now she was simply annoying.

“Have you tried to call Briareos?” Her friend asked.

“No, I just woke up.”

“I know, I meant yesterday.”

She sat up, looking at the dark haired woman.

“You should go to work, Hitomi.”

Yes, she had tried to call him, several times, but he had not picked up, just like the last days.

Their apartment had seemed so cold the last evening, when she had returned home, so big and lonely. It had been impossible to stay there, after all that had happened.

After a quick shower and a cup of coffee – she ignored the croissant because she was not really found of breakfast – she tidied everything up and left her friend’s home.

The door clicked like a sound of doom when she pulled it close. Her headache grew.

She was officially single now, not that she would really admit it. But last day she had put their relationship on the line and apparently lost it.

She wasn’t crying over some chocolate ice-cream, wasn’t burning old pictures and wasn’t making any drunken calls – though she would have if the other one would have picked up – she wasn’t like many other women. She wouldn’t break, actually she wasn’t even ready to give in just yet.

So they did have some fights, so she had screamed at him, had insulted him. So he had gone away, so they did have some issues.

But that’s life, right? It’s normal that a relationship wasn’t always sunshine and romantic walks in the parks – not that they ever had done that.  They’ve been through a lot, together and apart, each of them having hard times. Of course some relationships could break under such burdens. But not theirs, right? They were strong enough to endure everything. Of course they were, but maybe not together.

She had reached the changing room, not even remembering her drive to work, not even remembering walking through corridors and greeting comrades.

With a sigh she shook her head. This was no time to brood over things like this. There would be another time for her to talk with Briareos and then she would put things clear, then she would solve their problems.

But now she had work to do and training to be done.

As she left the changing room good-for-nothing Wataru awaited her, an unusual serious look on his face.

“Good morning.” He greeted her ever so friendly.

“Morning.” She grumbled back. “What’s wrong?”  
He would usually be at their usual training spot and not in front of the women changing room.

“There’s a meeting.” He answered in a seldom used dark voice, which made him sound so much more like Briareos.

She raised an eyebrow.

“I’m here to pick you up.”  
She followed him, away from the work-out area towards the office district.

“What’s that meeting for?” She asked, a little bit moody, she would have preferred some fighting over talking.

“There will be another mission, in two days they said.” Wataru was strangely sparing of words, but then she understood. This would be his first mission. He was nervous, maybe even frightened.

It was almost cute to watch him.

“Don’t ya worry.” She slapped his back. “I’ll make sure you’ll have a good time.”  
His face lightened up, like a light bulb switched on.

“Thank you.”  
She shrugged it off, but couldn’t hinder her smile.

But it faded almost immediately when she entered the conference room, now was business. Exactly four teams were awaiting them, looked like something serious.

But within less than a second she knew the one man she was looking for was missing.

Briareos wasn’t there.

She could see some of her comrades and friends regarding Wataru with a little smirk. He was a youngster, a newbie. Nobody took him serious, he was the little pub in a room filled with grown predators.

Lance entered, a cold look on his face.

“Okay, sit down. We got a lot to discuss.”

His order was a little bit softer than usually, but all of them followed.

She wondered where Briareos was right now.

 

“Where the heck are you?”  
“Right here, just give me a sec.”  
He sighed loudly. They had only about half an hour left before they needed to leave and his partner was playing hide and seek in the camp.

With a loud “Phew!” he could see the blonde show up between the cots. Her messy hair filled with dust.

“Okay, got everything. I’m good to go.” She grinned and gave him a thumps-up.

He shook his head grinning and picked up his backpack.

“You’re really something…”  
She mirrored his grin easily, acting like she was on a field trip and not on her way to a life-threatening mission.

As they left the tent he noticed a small group of soldiers, six or seven, not more and not part of his unit. Standing close together, whispering and gossiping in silent voices. He could see blue smoke rising between them. Some of them looked at him, trying to do it secretly but failing.  He noticed respect and fear in their eyes, although he was no leading operative anymore, he still had his history, he still was a high decorated soldier and he still was the one who had trained most of them, even though they were more or less about the same age.

“You shouldn’t smoke than stuff in this heat.” He advised in his most relaxed voice. “And you certainly shouldn’t gossip around while there’s still so much work to do.” His voice was still friendly, but then he switched. “Get up off your butts and start working!”

Most of them reacted by saluting and throwing their self-made joints and cigarettes down.

“You’re in no position to boss us around.” One cold voice replied and the group parted, showing a tall blonde man sitting on a bench and taking a draft of his joint. “At least not anymore.” His icy blue eyes were placed upon him, his voice lacking every respect. He was the highest ranked one of all the soldiers there, except for Briareos himself.

Scared eyes hushed to Briareos and back to the blond.

“Shut up, Hades!” Deunan interrupted. “You’re no one to talk. You’ll never be in the position to give orders.”  
“Oh, look who’s talking.” Hades got up and took another draft. “Little Miss Deunan Knute. Only part of the ESWAT because her Daddy got connections.”

He could see Deunan growing angry, but Hades was nobody that could break him and he wouldn’t allow him to break her.

“Well, considering that all her grades are better than yours, maybe you’re the one in need for connections.” He replied with a gentle smile.

A soft whisper came from the other soldiers.

Hades looked at him, his eyes filled with pure hatred, but realizing he was not able to step up to Briareos, he placed his gaze at Deunan, blowing smoke into her direction.

“At least I didn’t have to fuck my way up to the top.”  
It went fast, before he even realized what he was doing, he had put the tall blond down on the ground, dragging his face through the dust, dangerously close to the spot where still burning joints had fallen. The smell of burned eyebrows filled the air and although the other one tried to struggle, he didn’t move an inch. Briareos was calm, not even angered, his heart did not pound one beat faster than before. This was no thoughtless rage, this was a lesson.

Slowly he bent down to the other one.

“Maybe you’re the one in need for a good fuck. Or maybe you prefer somebody shooting in your mouth to shut you up.”  
He stood up.

“I thought I taught you some respect, but it seems you failed me.”

He shrugged his shoulders as the other one hurried to get back up.

 “I should feel disappointed, Hades, but I never expected you to make it far, so it’s alright for me.”  
He turned around. “Let’s go Deunan, some of us have a job to get done.”  
He could see her out of the corner of his eyes, sticking her tongue out and closing up to him.

“Oh and by the way.” He stopped and looked back. “Just a little advice: You shouldn’t drop the soap.”

Deunan at his side giggled silently, but he could sense her anger.

“What an asshole!” She hissed. “Who does he think he is?”

He knew that she wasn’t even mad about Hades insulting her, but because he had been rude to him.

He shrugged it off.

“Don’t let it bother you. He hasn’t overcome his grief and tries to take it out on me.”  
“Huh?” She looked up.

“Don’t… oh whatever. You remember the mission we lost Jackson?”  
She nodded.

“Well, one of the other ones we lost was a dear friend to him. He blames me for it and takes my resign as a confession. Of course I take the responsibility for what happened, and he will make sure I’ll never forget that terrible feeling.”

They turned around another corner, towards the command center.

“Still.” She mumbled. “He shouldn’t be that rude and keep private and business apart.”  
“Well, a man like him cannot respect my decision. A man stepping down from his position is something shameful in his eyes.”  
She looked at him. “Why?”

“You know how he is. He’s seeking the greater – no - the greatest. He wants to reach the top, he wants to have it all. But that’s why he’ll never achieve it.”  
They entered the center.

 “Yeah, a man like him shouldn’t give orders. He’s too greedy for power.”

“Above all he lacks devotion and humbleness. But we shouldn’t brood too much about his future. Our own is already enough to worry about.”  
She grinned widely.

“Nah, it will be fun, you’ll see.”

“Former Major General! Knute!”  
“You do know I have a name as well as a current rank, right?” He greeted O’Brian, but the other man looked too serious to meet his smile.

“Are you ready to go?”

Both of them nodded in unison.

“Okay. While getting your landmates checked let’s do the briefing. I want you on the road within the next fifteen minutes.”  
They nodded again.

All three of them walked down the hallway.

Deunan was like a little kid, showing nothing of her soldier education and not listening to their conversation, running in front of them, despite the heavy backpack, and rushing towards the landmates.

But he had to agree to her excitement. Those were the newest landmates out there. The cockpit windshield out of glass was replaced by a complete artificial visual field. He liked it much better this way and this was only the smallest change.

“So?” O’Brian asked him silent. “Are you really sure, you want to do this? Once you leave, there’s no going back?”  
He grinned.

“Oh Captain. You know me. There never was a going back for me.”  
“Hey, Bri!” The blonde called for them. “Stop chitchatting and let’s get moving!” She was grinning like it was a great adventure.

“Is she really ready for this?” The man next to him doubted.

“Well, she’s Carl’s daughter. I would say she was born ready.”

He followed his pointman to the landmates, who was already climbing in.

Within few minutes everything was set up for their takeoff.

He liked the new visual field and the movement was much lighter than before. He moved his arms and adapted some minor responders. He was still not really found of technology but he had gotten used to it.

“Those are awesome!” Deunan’s voice filled his cockpit with pure joy.

He laughed silently.  
“Okay, Deunan.” They faced each other through their monitors. “Are you ready?”  
She nodded. “Always!” And off they went.

 

Silence greeted him.

The apartment he shared with Deunan was deserted. She wasn’t there. Not that he had expected her to be. It was already past nine, she had to be at work.

But he noted that their place was unusually cold, nobody had spent their night here. Not he, not she.

It took him no time to picture that she had probably spent her night at Hitomi’s. The pretty bioroid was the only person Deunan would trust enough to talk about her personal problems and fears, the only person beside him.

He knew her well enough to know that after what had happened yesterday she wouldn’t be able to come here, to spend the night here on her own, alone. Because – although she would never admit it – she actually hated being alone.

He on the other hand had planned to sleep in his comfy bed, after one night on Yoshitsune’s small, hard sofa. But he had spent his night in the lab again. Not sleeping much, a little bit dozing around while multiple scientists had worked around and with him. He was tired, he was exhausted. He actually didn’t know how much longer he could last. The physical draining was one thing, it took a lot of him, but it would never be enough to break him. He had endured much worse than that. Hell yeah, he had already lost his body, almost died multiple times. Pain and exhaustion weren’t strangers to him. He greeted them like old friends.

The emotional draining though was something completely different. It could be easy for him, he could call Deunan or drive over to her at work. Ask her for a moment in private. She would agree, because she desperately wanted to find out what was going on, he knew that. He would tell her about his secret mission, would tell her why he didn’t want to tell her, couldn’t tell her. She would be loud for a moment, yelling, screaming, throwing her fists in the air, maybe even crying in anger.

But afterwards she would hug him, she would whisper close to him that she was with him, that she loved him, that she would always be by his side and that she was sorry for her words.

It would be easy. It would make so many things so much easier.

But he wouldn’t call her, he wouldn’t drive over, he wouldn’t tell her.

He wanted to so desperately that he almost started to doubt his own decisions, but he knew it was for the best.

He had to make sure she was able to take care of herself if he wouldn’t be around anymore. She had to learn how to work with other – less qualified – partners, so she could survive.

Yes, she was right, Carl had trained him to be the best there was. And although her strategically skills outmatched his own, he had the advantage to push his own emotions aside.

He would never allow his mind to be clouded by feelings. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

In sluggish movements he went for his drawers to get something new to wear. Due to his heat system working all the time, he was sweating like he was already in hell and needed to switch clothes more often than he wanted.

Maybe it was for the best if he put some distance between them, so she wouldn’t come in the position again to say things he knew she would regret later. 

He sighed deeply and put more clothes into his sports bag.

If he’d ask Lance he could probably get a small room at work to sleep and because of the experiment there wasn’t much spare time left for him to brood around.

He packed more stuff.

He needed her to be able to protect herself because no matter what the future brought, he wouldn’t be around for at least some time.

Surprised he pulled out one of his drawers further. In the left upper corner was a small box, he had forgotten for years. He remembered it quite well now. This little box had been given to him the day he got out of hospital after that incident sixteen years ago.

Those were the recovered belongings of Carl after he had died and after North America had been invaded. He remembered how he had tried to open the small metal box that day. How his huge metal fingers had tried to open it without smashing it. Remembered how desperate he had been, how much he wanted to know what was inside. Because after all that had happened he had thought that he had lost everything except for that small box. But he had not been able to open it, his huge fingers not working like his human ones used to do. He remembered how anger and despair had grown.

And then somebody had called him from where he had stood, had told him they had found her somewhere in Eastern Europe, had told him that she might was still alive, that Deunan might was still alive.

He regarded the little metal box with all its dents and dints from his strong fingers. He had forgotten about it. Forgotten about Carl’s belongings after he had found out that Deunan had been alive.

While he had been in hospital he had tried to reach out for his friends form the United States, only to be informed that LA had been gone, that their base had been destroyed, that none of the operating officers had survived.

Carl had either died during the war or of his cancer, he didn’t know.

Slowly he opened up the small box, now he was able to move his fingers gentle enough, he had forgotten about it for almost sixteen long years.

It snapped open, revealing its hidden treasures.

On top of a lot of small stuff lay an old picture, its edges were rippled or torn off. He remembered that picture. Carl used to carry it in his wallet along with pictures of his wife and daughter. It showed the four of them, Carl, Aaron, Nathaniel and him. It had been one of those Tuesdays where all of them had been together. He remembered that day. Thompson’s had been closed because of vacation or something, but since all of them had been able to make it they had decided to do something together instead. They had played basketball.

He had been horrible in it, Jackson had to team up with him because he had been the best player of them. They had lost devastated, but it had been fun. This had been one of those rare occasions when Carl had smiled like during the old days.

Briareos never had a picture of any of his friends, he had held no meanings to something like that, he had always thought that his memories would be more than enough.

But Carl had told him that some memories would be forgotten, although unwanted and pictures would help to remember.

He had forgotten about that day, almost forgotten.

He remembered Aaron’s laughter and how Nathaniel had scolded him several times in a semi-serious way. He remembered how he had tackled Carl to the ground, which apparently had been a foul. He remembered how the blonde and his subordinate had danced their dance of victory and how Nathaniel had accepted their defeat by ordering pizza for all of them.  
And he remembered how he had laughed, joked around and enjoyed time with his friends.

He had been their youngster, the cheeky brat with remarkable skills they had to guard and to follow.

But they had accepted him as one of them, as part of their family.

He felt the inner urge to cry, a human reaction, unable to be comprehended by this inhuman body.

So much for leaving emotions aside.

Carefully he went through the other small objects.

Jackson was death, Carl was death, Aaron was death.

None of them were left, only him.

And Deunan, his precious, little Deunan.

He paused as he found some small pieces of paper with Carl’s handwriting on them. How he longed for his old friends right now, for their advices, for their collected minds, for a sparring partner.

How he longed for someone of the old world, of the times when the old countries had existed, when technology wasn’t the only thing to wonder about, when different cultures did exist.

He stood up and put the small box in this bag.

How he longed for Deunan right now.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 

“Hey Charles, what’s up?”  
“Hey, Briareos, thanks for stopping by.”

“Yeah no problem. Sorry I couldn’t get your calls, my system isn’t working well right now.”  
The older man shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t worry. I knew I would reach you sooner or later, you’re a reliable comrade.”

He laughed in his dark voice. “Don’t say it like this. All of our comrades are reliable.”  
The other man slightly shook his head and closed and opened some folders on his connective board.

“Well, you’re one of the old ones. You know war, you know desperation. There a few of us left. Those youngsters nowadays…Tz.”

He liked Charles. He had served at the European border and fought against Russia before he had been captured and tortured for information. Afterwards he had been sent to a labor camp in Siberia, where he had spent three years before the Russian Regime had collapsed. Later he had made it to Olympus due to his skills and some luck on his side.

Briareos understood what the older man meant. It wasn’t the fault of the youngsters, but they would never understand what the elders had seen, experienced.

All of the elders hoped that the youngsters would never understand.

“So.” He said, keeping track of their conversation. “Tell me why am I here. Sounded pretty urgent.”

The other one scratched his neck. “I talked already with Ries this morning. You know there will be a mission tomorrow?”  
“Yes, heard about it, some minor task, no big deal, but Ries and I weren’t called in.”  
“Yeah, you are now. We needed to switch some parts up and Lance said you’d be happy about getting back to the real stuff. Although I’m a little bit worried if your system isn’t at its best.”  
“Don’t make it sound like I’m addicted to missions and don’t worry. It will work by tomorrow.”  
“Well, if you say so. And yes, you kind of are addicted to work. Despite your days off and this long break you still hold the record for the most absolved missions.”

“Thanks for reminding me of my lacking social life.”  
Both of them laughed.

“Okay, pal. Here is your information.” He opened a small file Charles handed him.

“Ries and Lance are already waiting for you in the small conference room.”  
Briareos nodded and turned towards the door, but then he paused.

“Say, if I gave you some information, would you be able to track somebody down?”

The operative raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. “Well, it depends. If it’s a bioroid no problem, if not it might be difficult.”

“So it will be difficult and we’re not talking about an Olympus’ resident.”

The other one sighed heavily. “Fine. Give me all you got and I see what I can do.”

“Thanks Charles, you’ll get all the information by tomorrow.”

“Yeah, make sure to give them to me before you leave for the mission. I’ll be here by five.”  
“Well, I promise I won’t.”

The other one grinned and he laughed swiftly.

He left and went down to the conference room.

Yesterday had been a tough day for him. After he had found the little box, it had been difficult for him to keep concentrating. Luckily he did have some free time to go training, although Ries had shown up much later.

He had fought for hours, afterwards went downstairs, dripping of sweat, and spent the afternoon at the shooting gallery, before he had taken a shower and went back to the lab.

His body was still sweating like he was constantly sitting in a steam sauna, but it wasn’t as heavy anymore, moved better to his will.

But as he enjoyed that his body was regaining its strength, his worry grew slowly as well. Within a few days the dangerous part of his secret mission would start. He was waiting for it, waiting for it to begin, but he was getting nervous as well.

Considering that it had been a good idea of Lance to enter him in this mission. He wasn’t the Commander for no reason. He knew exactly that Briareos’ wellness program usually consisted out of missions and playing with new weapons.

Downstairs his partner and superior greeted him.

“Nah, look who’s giving us the honor.” Ries teased. “You’re really up to something, aren’t you Briareos?”  
“What makes you think that?” He replied calm and sat down, opening the folder and picking up the small usb-stick. Why should he waste important time to read all that stuff, if he could know all he needed in less than a second?

“Well, if someone like you, who even has a strict schedule when it comes to food and sleeping, shows up late for training or leaves early, something’s definitely off. And I mean everyone heard about you and Deunan fi…” “We’re not here for some nice little chitchat, Ries!”  
Lance was obviously annoyed.

“You have less than twenty hours to get the tactic into your brain and…” “Already inside.” Briareos interrupted and pointed up his finger, where he had plugged in the USB-stick in.

“Stop joking around.” Lance said as calm as ever. “You have less time than the other teams and Briareos is still not at his best.”

Ries friendly poked the cyborg’s shoulder and leaned against his back.

“That’s why I want you, Brady, to watch his back.”

“Please, don’t call me by my first name Lance, you know how I hate it. And of course I watch him, he’s my partner.”  
But as Lance folded his arms both other men became serious.

“Listen you two. I have direct order from Nike. Briareos’ safe return is of higher priority than the success of the mission.”

Now Ries and Briareos shared a confused glance.

Although Briareos knew why he needed to return, he wondered why Nike even allowed him to go on a mission, if she doubted his survival qualities that much.

“Uiui, stop joking around Lance.” Ries said, raising an eyebrow. “We’re not talking about a high-classed dangerous MTC, this is some simple daily work. Why does Nike make such a fuss about it?”  
“Not your or my business. I’m just passing on her order.”

With those words the Commander left.

“So?” Ries asked and turned towards him, grabbing his own file from the desk but keeping his eyes on Briareos. “What kind of mission is it?”  
He tilted his head a little bit. “It’s really nothing special, sounds almost boring. It’s about securing some…”  
“I don’t mean this one.” Ries interrupted and put the file down. “I’m talking about the reason Nike wants me to babysit you.”

“I wouldn’t think about it too much. She’s probably just worried that Olympus’ national treasure, the one and only Hecatonchires could get broken, again.”

Ries laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry your highness. Didn’t know you were such a big fish. Forgive me for being just a mere human.”

“Oh, shut up!” He laughed as well. “Poke your nose back into those papers. I don’t have all day waiting for you to read the file.”

Ries shrugged it off but stopped asking.

Few hours later they left the room for some minor exercising.  

They had to be in early the next day, together with the other teams so it would be for the best if they did not overstrain themselves.

What Ries didn’t know was that Briareos wasn’t planning on going home afterwards.

He would go to the lab again and probably spent his whole night there.

 

“Why aren’t you talking to me?” He could hear her annoyed voice and see her puffed cheeks in the little window of his screen.

“Because I’m listening to the radio link, which you should as well and which you could if you would shut up.”

The young blonde mumbled something under her breath but stayed silent.

They had left the camp one day ago and made good progress. They would cover half of their distance by early sunrise. But this had been the easy part. As soon as the first village was in sight they had to leave their landmates behind and go the rest by foot.

This would be the difficult part. A black stranger with a young, white woman, both of them armed would certainly be suspicious, but they had no other way.

The distance of roughly forty miles wasn’t bothering him very much. Without any incidents they could easily make it within the planned days.  It actually had taken them quite long for the first sixty miles, he wanted to make it by evening and now it was already dark. But still he should be grateful for not walking all hundred miles. After all those landmates were great fighting machines but not the best travelling companions.

Deunan had enjoyed their trip so far, but after hours of flying in the same position, always looking straight ahead and not really able to move much, her mood had dropped.

He could understand that this wasn’t really a comfy way to travel, but well, they weren’t on vacation.

But he had other problems. Shortly after they had left the base he had been informed that the radio link had been broken and would be repaired. This wasn’t much to worry about as long as they weren’t in danger.

The real issue was that it had been fixed almost half an hour ago and now multiple information and fragments of messages were transmitted. He was surprised about the sheer amount of messages. This meant something had happened in the camp while they had been gone and he tried to figure out what, while he was listening to the bits of pieces.

Somewhere in-between he heard Carl talking, which worried him even more, not only because his old friend sounded like he was mad enough to fly over from the US himself. Something must have happened.

“Deunan, I want you to watch the surroundings better. Don’t lose concentration just because we have been in the air for so long. Our landing spot must be close.”  
Her landmate in front of him gave him a thumps-up sign to show that she had understood.

He turned his screen into a smart board, his surrounding environment became background.  
Due to this he was able to use the system of his landmate like any other computer system. He activated the tap-proof communication system and waited.

After few seconds Branson – O’Brian’s closest assistant - picked up.

Surprised the other man met his view.

“Oh Briareos. Are you alright? Didn’t expect you calling.”  
Well, if that wasn’t a professional salutation.

“Hey Branson. No it’s all good, but what happened at the camp? The radio only gives me pieces of information and I don’t understand anything. Do we need to return? What’s the matter? Where’s the Captain?”  
The other man sighed.

“No, don’t worry. Nothing really too serious. We manage.”  
“So how come I can hear Carl Knute’s voice over the link although he’s supposed to be non-active?”  
He could see the other man swallow.

Sometimes Briareos forgot how much impression his deep voice combined with his physical features and his background story had.

It was one thing to intimidate youngsters and newbies, but sometimes he forgot that also the older ones saw him as the dangerous miracle kid. The boy of a killing machine, who wouldn’t listen to no one but Carl Knute.  
Although those days were long gone, most of the older ones remembered, and when he recalled correctly, Branson had entered their force when he had been around eleven or twelve, he wasn’t sure, but obviously Branson was scared that he, Knute’s watchdog, would become angry.

“So?” He repeated calmly.

“Well, to make it short. Some of the youngsters here were supposed to fill up the normal soldiers ranks undercover, but one of them blew it on purpose within the first ten hours. The thing is some of them are on patrol right now with other common soldiers – like they were supposed to be – and we try now to withdraw them as soon as possible.”  
Briareos was actually really surprised. He knew of the strategy that the first unit of them was supposed to go undercover in order to strengthen their military and getting secret information from the front. It was dangerous and risky, but usually, as long as nobody knew who they actually were, it was not much of a problem. But it was of highest importance to stay incognito, because as soon as the enemy would know that the ESWAT took action, all of their missions would be in danger. Especially this one of him and Deunan.

“Who would purposely blow their cover? This sounds almost like treason.”  
“It would be, if he weren’t there himself, but this way it’s only a misdemeanor, according to Knute.”  
“Why is he involved? He’s isn’t supposed to be working. He’s sick.”  
“Don’t tell me. He came back in active service this morning, after he heard of your mission and Watson put him directly in charge over our assignment from abroad.”

He wanted to continue, but Briareos silent him with one headshaking.

They were there. He had no time left for a little chitchat.

It was good to know that they weren’t as secret anymore as supposed – he had his own guess on who couldn’t keep their mouth shut – but this meant they had to be even more carefully.

“Okay, thanks for the briefing. We made the first sixty miles and will send the landmates back on autopilot. I will reach out as soon as we fulfilled our mission or failed.”  
He didn’t wait for the other one to reply, but ended the call.

“You listened?” He asked, as the screen became his visual field again.

“Sure did.” Deunan answered, her face in the left corner of his screen way more collected than usually. “That was Hades, right? He blew the cover, on purpose, right?”  
He shrugged his shoulders. “Probably, although I really hope not. The soldier, who did this, is not only responsible for blowing the cover of twenty soldiers, but is also risking their very own deaths. Not even talking about endangering every other mission.”  
“Like this here.”  
“Yeah, well.  Our surviving rate is already quite low; I don’t think this will affect it much.”  
Deunan laughed slowly.

“Let’s get down.” He ordered and she followed.

“I’m surprised you’re not even asking about your father.” He said after a moment, while they came closer and closer to the ground.

“Oh, to be honest, I’m not half as surprised about his return as you are.”

He didn’t reply as they landed almost softly on the hard ground.

In the far distant he could see a silver lining. They had about two hours before the sun would rise. Better than nothing.

In silence both of them got out of their vehicles, collected the items they needed for their travel and entered the coordinates for the autopilot. Of course the landmates wouldn’t fly exactly to the camp, but close enough to be picked up again. They were too valuable to be lost forgotten in the dessert, and as a trace they were too dangerous.

He put on his coat and shouldered his backpack, it was much smaller and lighter than the usual equipment, making him look less than a soldier and more like a commoner.

Deunan shouldered hers as well and grinned at him, still stretching her legs.

“Okay, we should be able to reach the village by late morning. If it’s save enough we stay there for a short rest to buy some supplies before we continue, okay?”  
She nodded. They had talked about this already several times. They would make it, the first two or three villages weren’t troublesome, only normal villagers, weary and poor maybe however untrained and no real threats, but then they would reach a territory controlled by Russia. This would be the real dangerous part.

He nodded shortly.

“Are you ready?”  
She already started walking.

“Always.”

 

With a sigh he loosened the muscles of his shoulders, which was unnecessary, because these artificial muscles couldn’t become stiff.

This was by far one of the most boring missions he had ever been on.

Early this morning he had been able to leave the lab, driving over to the apartment he shared with Deunan, who had not been there, to pick up more of his stuff, before driving to work.

He remembered the blonde’s look, when she had entered the preparation room and had seen him there as well.

He had tried to ignore her eyes. Emotions weren’t welcomed on a mission, but as all of them were getting ready, he had noted that she wanted to talk with him.

Luckily Ries took his babysitter-function way too serious and pulled him away for some minor confab, probably really just to save him from Deunan.

It was no secret that they had more than a fight.

The blonde’s words about breaking up with him had been heard by too many to be ignored.

Nobody talked about it, at least not when he was around, but he could feel the silent recognition from his comrades. He knew what the rumors said, although nobody told him.

He could picture how it must look.

He had gotten hurt severe during a MTC while protecting Deunan, who was now teamed up with a newbie, shouting at him every time they met.

It had to seem like broken trust, like a broken relationship, but none of them knew the truth.

Not that he would tell them.

He didn’t care about their thoughts and worries, didn’t bother for their gossip.

But he did care about Deunan, he did care about what she thought and if he was totally honest, it was more than bothersome to watch her work with that newbie Wataru.

Of course it had been his decision to team her up, to prepare her to have another partner than him. And Wataru was exactly what Deunan needed. He was smart, fast-minded and extremely focused. He would learn in weeks what others usually learned over years. But he was a newbie nonetheless, making mistakes, being sloppy sometimes and not always careful enough.

In order for Deunan to survive with Wataru, not only she had to watch her own back more carefully, she also had to teach him her ways, to train him to become better, to show him how the job had to be done.

In order to survive she had to give orders, had to explain what she was thinking. All her life she had worked together with him, who had trained her, who had known her since she had been a baby. Now she was the one in charge, the one who had to take care of others.

So yes, it had been his idea and his decision, and it would help her grow, would help her to become even better, to become even better than what Carl had seen in her, but it still pained him to watch when Wataru took too long to close up to Deunan – three seconds to slow, enough for an enemy to shoot her multiple times – or when she needed to turn around to tell him something and he looked at her instead of the surrounding behind her – there where countless ways this could lead to danger – it was really difficult for him to watch them without acting.

He sighed silently and turned for Ries, who obviously had noted his look and winked at him grinning widely.

It was not like this mission put any of them in danger, the most dangerous part was to not kill yourself while unlocking your weapon, it was almost impossible for Deunan to get hurt, almost impossible for Wataru to make a mistake fatal enough to endanger her.

But still, still it was his Deunan and it had been his decision. What if, what if the almost impossible did happen? He would never forgive himself, he would never…

“Stop worrying, Briareos.”

He looked up, Ries grinned at him.

“She’ll be alright. That Wataru-kiddo is a good boy. Although he’s still half-baked he’ll take good care of her, don’t you worry.”

He shook his head halfway. “Sure, I know that.” _After all I chose him_. He added in his thoughts.

In silence they continued their way and Ries was right of course.

They completed the mission without anything happening, pure boredom, almost annoying for somebody like him.

Usually Deunan would be at his side, complaining about how missions like that were a waste of her talent and he would agree. Usually he would ask Lance why he would use some of his best soldiers for some child’s play.

But today he was only grateful, only glad that she was safe and sound, that nothing had happened to her.

By now Briareos was back in the lab, watching doctors and scientists work around them, with him, talking to him.

He didn’t care. He had seen her glance when he had left, had seen how much she had longed for him at that moment.

But he had left her behind at the operation room, left her behind with the other soldiers laughing about that ridiculous mission.

He sighed deeply.

“Well I had hoped you wouldn’t be so blue after all I had to do to convince Nike to let you join the mission.”

He looked up, commander Lance leaned against the tall glass tube and glanced down at him.

“But all you do is sighing half of the time and ignoring everybody around you.”

The older man knocked against the thick glass.

“Shouldn’t you be filled with joy and excitement? I mean, look at it. Doesn’t it look fabulous? It’s growing great, all the… oh whatever. Actually I have no clue, but the guys in white over there are almost crying about its development, so I guess it’s going good.”

Lance smirked crookedly.

“But you’re still not happy. Even though everything is going exactly as you wanted, you’re not satisfied.”

“I never wanted Deunan to react like this.”

Lance laughed drily.

“No, probably not. But admit it, you expected her outbreak, didn’t you?”

He nodded silently, almost denying it to himself.

“And still you were ready to proceed. You stuck to your plan and now you’re bearing the consequences. Quite the soldier you are. But I really wonder if it’s worth it.”  
“What? Are you doubting this operation here?”  
“Of course I do, but that’s not what I mean, Briareos. I wonder what you want to achieve by keeping Deunan out of this. Wouldn’t it be much easier for the both of you if she knew? She would probably even understand why you assigned Wataru as her new partner. She wouldn’t yell at you anymore. And most importantly she would support you. I bet she’s much better company than I am, when you’re sitting here for hours and hours. If you want I can talk to Nike and make it…”  
“Lance.” His voice was soft, almost too soft for his artificial voice system to catch it. “You will not tell her and neither will I.”

His commander shook his head and squatted down.

“Then tell me my old friend, what do you expect from this? Why do you put your relationship on the line?” The older one asked and looked up at him.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He replied. “The moment she knows, she will hope and fear, she will try to help me and stop at the same time. But she will lose focus, all day she will only brood about this operation. She will worry so much over me, that she will lose concentration on her daily work. And then mistakes can happen. If Wataru makes one it’s fine, she can watch herself. But if she makes one I’m not sure if anybody except me is able to react fast enough to save her. So she cannot ever lose concentration, never lose focus, not as long as I’m not there.”

Lance tilted his head. “But what if you die? How do you expect her to cope that?”  
He laughed lowly. “Oh, she’s been there, done that. Remember sixteen years ago she had to think of me as dead. It was impossible to survive, she knew that. I would have died if it wouldn’t have been for that Wilder. She will mourn, she will grieve, but she will be aware that there is nobody to watch her back, so she will be careful.”

The other one got up again, folding his arms and biting his lip.

“Well, I’m not really convinced by this, honestly. But as long as it makes sense for you, I will stay low.”

He swiftly scratched his chin. “Fine, I have to go now, Nike is waiting. But don’t worry I got your room ready and make sure to pass by before I leave.”

“Lance.” The tall man turned around. “Can I ask you for another favor?”

The Commander lifted an eyebrow.

“I think it’s better for me to be repelled from future missions if possible.”  
“What?”

“Yes, of course I will gladly help any mission my skills and my body are needed for but for anything less, for daily work like today, I would like to be withdrawn.”  
“Are you fucking kidding me? After all I did to convince Nike to let you train and work. Do you know how difficult it is for Charles to keep up with your schedule?  You said you wanted to work, you said you needed it to keep your peace of mind. So why the hell do you demand such nonsense?!”

“Because like I just told you it’s crucial to lose focus in our work. Our concentration is the difference between life and death. Today I noticed that it’s impossible for me to be on a mission with Deunan without protecting her. My mind was not set. I’ve failed my job today.”  
Lance breathed heavily.

“One day you will kill me for sure.” He groaned. “Fine! Fine! For all I care. After all your medical condition is still not back on top and Ries surely won’t mind to spend some weeks as back-up.”

“Thank you Co…”  
“But I’m telling you, Briareos.”

The other one had turned towards him again and wagged his finger.

“I’m trying to be considerate because of this operation here. But I dare you to bring all your private issues to work after this here is over. I don’t care if you and Deunan split up for good or live happily ever after, but for heaven’s sake after this mission I want you to be the operative I know again. No drama, no break-ups, and no freaking gossip! If I wanted my workplace to be a soap opera I would have become a damn actor. And no favors, no bending rules, no blind… oh dammit, now I’ll be late for Nike.”  
Lance hissed something under his breath and rushed away, not even waiting for him to respond.

Briareos laughed softly.

Lance was a good man, sometimes a little bit moody, but he could trust him.

And Lance was a smart man, it wasn’t all about Deunan, or maybe it was.

But the real reason why he didn’t tell her about this operation was that he was too scared of failing. What if he failed, maybe she could cope it, bury her hopes and forget what had happened.

But he would never be able to do that. He would never forgive himself if he failed and returned alive.

So he knew where he drew the line.

He would either return alive and successful or dying while trying, there was no in-between.

He wasn’t in for the halfway anymore.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

 

“We’re watched.” Her voice was nothing more than a calm whisper, only for him to hear.

He nodded almost unseen. He had noticed it already. Not only villagers and commoners stared at them, but hidden enemies as well.

During the past three days they had covered quite some distance, more than he could have hoped for. They had made it far into the enemy’s territory by now, had left the easy part, the safe part of their journey far behind by now.

Only few minutes ago they had reached the last village they had to pass on their mission.

But he had noticed those weary eyes watching them long before they had arrived. Because of their good pace and because they were good in time Briareos had decided not to travel as planned back in the camp – a straight line towards the spot where they could cut the Russian supply route – but to take a slight curve in order to make them look less like they were heading for that destination but maybe for one of those refugee camps, which was close by.

The previous villages they had passed had been poor but the people had been kind. Trading food for some goods they carried, for some spare money they had, not much, but they had helped them. Most of them hadn’t asked a thing, if they had wondered why a tall black man was wandering around with a white girl none of them showed it, although some of them had stared at Deunan, scarred and curious at the same time. Kids had tried to touch her skin and did run off when she had smiled at them.

It had been difficult but at no time they had been in danger, at least not in more danger than every other day.

But this village was different, certainly the people here were just as poor as the other villagers they had met, but the village itself was nothing more but ruins, not one of the huts was undamaged, some of them were missing walls and roof, some of them were almost unhurt, only little fractures.

This village and all its inhabitants had been witnesses of war and destruction.

The people here had lost their faith in humanity, had lost their trust in strangers.

The people here stared at him and his unusual companion with weary eyes, scared and worried what their goal was.

The people here hoped for them to leave as soon as possible, to not stay longer than necessary.

But Briareos wasn’t worried about those people. They were scarred and suspicious, but they were no real thread, none of them would dare to attack them as long as there was nothing unexpected.

Briareos was worried about those other people, those people hiding in the huts of villagers, their guns ready to fire, their weapons drawn, their minds sharp.

Those were his and Deunan’s enemies, soldiers under the flag of Russia, soldiers ordered to kill any suspicious being coming across.

And he and Deunan were certainly suspicious.

Before they had reached this village they had made up their plan. They knew they would be watched, they knew this would be the most dangerous part before they would reach their destination.

Their strategy was supposable easy. They would restore water and food and rest for only few minutes, during those minutes he would ask for the fastest route towards the refugee camp.

He expected the villagers not to tell them, he expected them to tell him that there was no camp close by, to see his reaction.

He would tell them that he needed to bring his companion there, because she was sick, because she was weak, he would sound desperate, his voice would grow loud.

Some women would regard Deunan carefully, would wonder if it was right to lie to them.

Some men would regard him, would wonder if he was lying or not.

He would offer money, becoming more desperate and asking for help.

At that moment the soldiers watching them would become active.

Either they would fall for their act and tell them were to go, because they believed that the crying man with the girl by his side was actually really nothing more than a refugee, or they would not fall for it and then they would act on their own and attack them.

But to his surprise things went differently, even smoother than expected.

While he was trading some food, Deunan was talking to children at a dried-out well.

He watched her out of the corner of his eyes, how she showed them a little game and smiled. He watched how the kids, who probably had never seen a white person – except for the soldiers – before, touched her hair.

He smiled, those kids grew up in war, he had been one of them so long ago, but he didn’t remember one light memory of that time.

Maybe the smiling Deunan could be such a memory for one of those children.

The man he was buying food from grinned at him and asked him if Deunan was his woman and maybe because he was caught off guard or maybe because he wanted to be honest he answered that he hoped her to be soon.

The other man raised an eyebrow and asked him why he wasn’t asking her right now, who knew if there would be a soon.

With a sigh Briareos told him that he wanted to give her a safe future, that he wanted to reach a safe harbor so she could live in peace, so she could be happy, so that one day maybe they would have children to grow up in peace unlike himself.

The man next to him pointed at a little boy, who was playing rock, paper, scissors with Deunan, explaining that this was his son, already knowing how to shoot a gun, but not able to read yet.

Briareos asked the salesman how many years he had spent in war and the other one man answered that he had lived all his life in it.

The salesman asked him, where he was from, for his dialect sounded unfamiliar. It was the first time in years that Briareos spoke about his hometown, sorrow and grief slipping into his voice.

It was long gone by now, destroyed by war, not of his people, no but by war of strangers. He had never met his mother, had never known who his father was, and had killed his own brother when he had been around the same age the boy, playing with Deunan, was.

The other man placed a hand at Briareos shoulder and looked at him sincere, his dark eyes like gates to his soul.

He told him that there were soldiers in this village watching them - what Briareos already knew of course – because they thought they were European or maybe even American soldiers, but then he whispered to him that there was a refugee camp close by, where they would find help, where they maybe would find peace, where they maybe would find a safe harbor.

Briareos waved Deunan over, while the salesman explained to him the safest and fastest route to the camp.

Briareos thanked him and shook his hand grateful.

When they left the salesman leaned over to Deunan and whispered something to her, making her smile.

Minutes later they left the village, still watched by those weary eyes, but not attacked.

Briareos figured that if those soldiers thought about taking them down, they would prefer to do it outside of this village, so he stayed cautious.

And he noted that Deunan didn’t lose focus as well.

He wondered what the salesman had told Deunan, but he would ask her soon, hoping that there would be a soon to ask her.

 

She stared at the closet in her bedroom, not because she was looking for something to wear – no, she was fine with her clothes – but because she had noticed that it was halfway empty.

The half belonging to Briareos was empty, untouched, slightly covered by dust.

The last time Deunan had spoken with Briareos had been almost two weeks ago, few minutes before their last mission together. But before she had been able to say what had been on her mind, Ries had shown up and pulled Briareos away.

After that time Briareos had been nothing more than a ghost in her life. She had heard his husky voice during training, how he laughed or scolded Ries, but whenever she went by his spot, he was gone before she could reach him.

Sometimes she tried to fetch him when he was about to leave the men’s changing room, but he was either gone or multiple comrades where leaving together with him and blocking her way towards the cyborg.

She started to wonder if they were doing this on purpose, something about bro code and comradeship. Although none of their comrades behaved differently towards her or asked her about what had happened between her and Briareos, they all had that look on their faces, confusion, not sure what had happened to the dream team, to the happily ever after couple, not sure what her part was in this. So instead of choosing a side, it seemed that her comrades had decided to keep them apart as long as there was tension between them.

It seemed Lance had made the same decision. After their last mission Briareos had been taken out of the active service. But nobody had told her the real reason, everybody said it was because of his medical situation, but if he had not been well, why had he been allowed to join that one mission in the beginning?

It made no sense to her, but she felt like she was the only one blocked out of a huge secret.

At first she hadn’t noticed any of this.

Her mind had been occupied with different things, the soldier within her had been stronger than the woman after the last mission.

The mission had shown her multiple weaknesses of Wataru, weaknesses severe enough to kill her or him if the mission would be more difficult than the last one.

So she had practices with him, trained him, taught him.

Wataru had improved a lot during the last two weeks and Deunan started to be proud of the man he was about to become. It felt like she was the one molding him into a real soldier. Training the little puppy to become a real predator, a real beast.

But she had also noticed her own mistakes, small ones, unnoticeable for others, but obviously for her. She wondered why she hadn’t seen them before, maybe because Briareos had always been there to guard her back and to catch her if needed.

So she had revised her own work, reworked her training schedule and adapted her strategic and tactical mind.

She had reminded herself that none of the others would be like Briareos, that none of them could be, so if she wasn’t working with him, she needed to be better than before, she needed to be a better version of herself, more perfect than before, because none could be as good as Briareos, no one could guard her like him.

But over all those things she had missed the most important thing.

It wasn’t only at work that Briareos had become nothing more but a ghost.

After the mission she had tried to catch him, but he had vanished from the operation room within half a second. From then on she had waited for him to come home, but he never did.

And now she knew why.

After returning from work today she had been looking for her favorite sweatpants, but couldn’t find them, so she had searched through the whole apartment, today was the first day she had noticed that all of Briareos belongings were gone.

The last few days she had been certain that Briareos was keeping her at distance because of some secret mission, because he wanted to keep her safe.

She had been sure that maybe even their fights had been part of his cover, to make sure she wouldn’t be endangered, or maybe he had been unusual tense because of that mission, being moodier than usual.

During all those days she had actually never doubted that it would work out in the end, that they would be happy in the end, that they would still find Eden.

But now she doubted her faith.

Maybe, maybe she had been wrong, maybe this secret mission Lance had talked about was nothing more than a mission, maybe those fights were nothing more than actual fights, and maybe the distance between her and Briareos right now was actual nothing more than Briareos trying to cope their break up.

Slowly she sat down on her bed, the bed she used to share with Briareos.

Memories of their past rushed through her mind.

All her life she had been trained to be a soldier.

She had grown up with the knowledge that she would eventually lose all the people dear to her.

She had been nothing more than a young child when her mum had died, her father had died while she had been in combat.

She had always been ready to lose Briareos, she already knew the feeling of his death, been there done that, she never wanted it to happen, but if it did, she was prepared.

But never would she have thought that she could lose him like this.

The idea of him and her living in the same city, but not talking with each other, broke her heart.

She would never be able to move on.

Of course many would tell her that it was normal to feel this way at first, but at some point she would be able to go on.

Maybe that was right for most people, but not for her. Nothing could change her feelings, Briareos was the one and only man she could ever love and ever wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

She didn’t care about his body, his appearances. She would love him no matter what, as long as he was Briareos.

She would probably forgive him right now, if he would show up in the door, as long as he would stay with her.

But he had abandoned her, left her alone.

How could he?!

Didn’t he know that she never meant to break up, that she never wanted to lose him?

Or maybe he did know, but maybe he didn’t care.

She felt weak, broken.

After all they’ve been through, after all they had endured together, it was over?

The man she loved, the man she wanted to marry, had left her behind.

Maybe she should have asked him, asked him to marry her, she knew he would have been happy. But as a matter of fact they already were engaged, after all he did ask her and she did say yes.

She remembered that day, but then everything went terribly wrong and she had almost lost him, partly lost him.

And now they had found their Eden, a place where they could live in peace in freedom, but she knew that Briareos wasn’t happy, not as happy as before, she knew about his dreams and worries, she knew that he felt like he wasn’t good enough anymore.

It was a miracle that Briareos had survived those sixteen years ago, but maybe, maybe he did die, maybe something within him had died when his mind had been conserved into this Hecatonchires’ body.

She sighed deeply.

What she had said to Briareos in anger and in pain had been wrong, she was aware of his weakest spots and she had used it against him, that wasn’t fair, that wasn’t how partners were supposed to act, no matter the emotions.

She trusted him with her life and he should be able to do the same.

Determined she got up.

She would go to Lance now and this time there wouldn’t be any hidden messages or unsaid things. She wanted to know where Briareos was and she wanted to talk with him right now, she would get her answers!

Now!

 

She sighed deeply.

“They’re still watching us”, she murmured in annoyance, “It would be so much easier to simply take them out. Our little detour takes way too long.”

He laughed silently.

“Stay patient, Deunan. If we take them out right now, our cover will be blown and our mission is over. They won’t attack us if they see us reaching the camp. So just stay calm until we’re there. We’re still good in time.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know, I know.  It was nothing more than a daydream.”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.

They had left the destroyed village hours ago, heading towards the refugee camp, like the salesman had told them. Some of the Russian soldiers had followed them, watching them, making sure they really were refugees and no soldiers.

Because they were actual soldiers it was needless to say Deunan and him had acted like they hadn’t noticed anything. In order to hide their true identity they weren’t talking English of course – this would blow their cover within seconds – but French.

Deunan used it perfectly, like it was her native language, because nobody would believe that a white blonde was of African origin.   
Briareos on the other hand spoke with a harsh dialect, breaking words and misusing grammar in order to seem like he had lived his whole life on this continent.

A nice side effect was that unlike English, French wasn’t a language spoken by most Russians, especially not lip-reading, so although they weren’t using secret codewords it was certain that none of the soldiers would understand them.

The heat of the day was slowly passing as the sun got closer and closer to the horizon.

Usually it wasn’t that smart to travel during the day, but as they acted like refugees they had not much of a choice.

In the far distance he noticed a change of the environment.

“The camp”, Deunan whispered and a smile crossed her face. It looked almost like she really wanted to go there.

But there was nowhere to go for them, nowhere to flee to.

Even if they were to survive this mission, even if they were to survive this war, who knew how long the peace in the US would last. Who knew how long it would take the world to end this war. Who knew if they could survive that long. And who knew where they could survive that long.

As long as there was war there was no peace, so freedom was only a lie to those not entangled in battle.

Even if he was going to ask her to marry him, where could they live? Where could they grow old? Where could they be a family?

_You know, Briareos. I had to leave the States to realize that this is my home, my freedom, my Eden._

Nathaniel’s words flooded his mind. He remembered how his friend talked about his home country, he remembered his friend’s smile.

But he and Deunan hadn’t really left the States, they were only on a mission abroad and hopefully would return afterwards.

But even though he had spent most of his life in Los Angeles, he wasn’t even sure if this country was his home.

For a moment he looked at Deunan. As long as she was with him he was happy, but he wanted to offer her something, and living at a military base was really not that impressive.

He sighed silently. Was there any way for them to avoid war although they were already in the middle of it?

Similar to him, Deunan had grown up knowing nothing else than combat, they weren’t meant to live the life on the countryside, so how could he offer her a save life, a peaceful life? How could he take care of her? Was there any way?

 “What’s wrong, Bri?”

Surprised he looked up.

“What? Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. It’s all going as planned.”  
She tilted her head and bit the inside of her cheek, like she was reading him all too easy.

“What’s on your mind, Briareos? I can see that you’re brooding over something.”

Her blue eyes were clear and straight.

He sighed again.

“I’m just remembering some days of the past and now I’m wondering what my goal in life is.”

“Huh?”  
“You will never learn, will you?”  
“I’m just surprised you brooding over something philosophical like this. It’s not like you to look past the current mission.”

He looked at her. No, it was not like him to think about the future. But how could he think about marrying her if he wasn’t ready to offer her a future?

The camp was coming closer and closer.

“They’re retreating.” Deunan was right. The soldiers had fallen behind, probably to avoid to be seen by the refugee camp.

“We’ll continue for another mile and then we’ll turn to our original course.” His voice was low, almost losing his fake accent.

She nodded.

“So what is your goal in life?” She asked almost innocent.

“I wouldn’t be brooding any longer if I’d know.”  
“True. Kind of funny.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What? That I’m brooding over something?”  
She laughed. “Nah, not really. I’m used to you thinking over things too much. No, I just realized that I never wondered about something like this. Is there a goal in life? Isn’t living the goal?”

He looked at her.

Maybe she was right, maybe he was not living to achieve a goal, maybe the goal was to be alive.

But then he saw the sparkle in her eyes.

No, his goal wasn’t to be simply alive. The goal of his life was to make sure that she was alive, to make sure she was happy. She was the reason of his life.

“Tell me, what that salesman said to you.”

He could see the hint of a smile in her face.

“Oh, I’m not saying a word.” She teased.

The camp was close enough now, slowly they changed course.

“Keeping a secret from me?”

She laughed. “I’ll tell you after the mission. I’ll tell you soon.”  
She went past him, walking in a faster pace.

He followed her.

“Well, but I want to know now!”  



End file.
